The federal government and the State of California are jointly suing the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel in San Diego County to prevent it from opening an online real money poker website.
Although the state legislature has been moving in the direction of legalizing online poker, the tribe says it doesn’t want to wait. It argues that it is allowed to offer online poker because it is a form of Class II gaming. The state and U.S. Attorney for the state disagree.
Almost a year ago the tribe launched a bingo site, DesertRoseBingo.com, which resulted in the U.S. Attorney successfully seeking a restraining order. It alleges that the tribe is violating the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act 2006 (UIGEA). California also sued, alleging that the tribe was violating its tribal state gaming compact.
Recently the federal court for the U.S. Southern District ruled that the two complaints could be heard as one case.
A February 9, 2016 date has been set for the trial to begin.
The tribe continues to maintain that its plans are legal in spite of a ruling by the District Court that its bingo games are actually a form of Class III games. “The Santa Ysabel Tribe looks forward to vigorously defending its legal, well-regulated VPN-aided Class II bingo enterprise in federal court,” the tribe posted on its website. “The District Court’s mistaken reliance on outdated case law and its misinterpretation of the construct of Santa Ysabel’s bingo games resulted in issuing its misguided decision.
