Judge Anthony Bataglia, ruled last week that Santa Ysabel Interactive, Gaming Commission of Santa Ysabel and lipay Nation, together with several other defendants acted contrary to the Unlawful iGambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006, when they launched bingo games in 2014.
Real money casino gambling has been swift until last week when Judge Battaglia made the ruling.
Two years ago, the defendants who are Native Americans, started an online destination, which offered online bingo. After a while, they also launched an extension that offered internet poker room on a Private Room.
Immediately after the launch of those online casinos, the state, as well as federal authorities, offered to challenge the decision in court. Litigants claimed that the tribe’s websites did not take into consideration of people especially patrons who lived outside the ground of the tribe from accessing their platforms.
In later stages of the legal battle, the state together with the U.S. government joined to lay their accusations against the sovereign tribe. The case that has been ongoing for some time came to a close last week when Judge Battaglia gave in to the evidence brought before him, asserting that the defendants had made a violation in an earlier stage.
In what was seen as a long and detailed ruling contained in 34 pages, Judge Battaglia ordered Tribal Online to cease from conducting any online gambling business forthwith. Additionally, the Judge directed that the casino stop any online transactions, which include payments made or received in relation to online casino gambling. The latter is particularly on clients who do not hail from the lipay Nation vicinity in San Diego.
Is It UIGEA or IGRA?
UIGEA out rightly says that is in violation of the law if banks and other relevant online money transfers to accept the withdrawal or deposit of any funds that are directly or indirectly related to making real money casino gambling, particularly online.
On the other hand, IGRA, a law that governs most online businesses in the U.S. established in 1988, has exemptions. The latter allows a degree of leniency, which gives tribes the liberty not to follow UIGEA.
IGRA was passed to protect the rights of the tribes and give them a chance to make real money from online casinos.
Impact On The Nation
lipay Nation are not the first group to try and start an establishment that violated local rules but maybe permitted nationally. While operating a casino may not be a violation of the law, IGRA allows tribes to put up Class II gaming facilities, which include bingo and poker but on sovereign land.
The Iowa Tribe launched an online casino that offered poker and when the matter was brought before the court, the judge said that he did not see any genuine issues, which barred the tribe from running Class II gaming site.
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