A bill receiving some traction in the Idaho House targets part of the 2002 law that allow slot machines in tribal casinos. Several lawmakers believe the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) of 1988 conflicts with the state constitution.
The state constitution bans slot machines. IGRA permits their use in Indian casinos.
Rep. Tom Loertscher, author of the bill, spoke before the House State Affairs Committee, which he chairs, last week. He said the bill would encompass all gaming in the state under the same rule. “It wouldn’t ban all of the machines, but it would affect the tribes so that they couldn’t have slot machines. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act says they can do whatever the state is doing.”
He added, “We’ve been bothered by several gambling issues over the last few years. This is a major policy thing that we need to address.”
House Assistant Majority Leader Brent Crane told CalvinAyre, “it’s an old fight—there’s old wounds,” adding “I’m not sure you’re going to fix this issue in the Idaho Legislature.”
Another member of the State Affairs Committee, Rep. Randy Armstrong, predicted that banning gaming machines statewide would be “devastating” to the economic situation of all the tribes. The tribes are listed among the top ten employers in the state.
The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes declined comment for the moment, but said they would release a statement soon. So far the tribes have beaten all attempts to shut down slot machines by challenging them in federal court.
IGRA stipulates that tribes can offer any Class III game as long as anyone else in the state can play them. That would mean their video gaming machines are allowed, because they use the same system as the state lottery. There are five tribes in Idaho.
Loertscher pointed out that a casino bill board advertises “200 new slots in Fort Hall.” Yogonet quoted him as adding, “They advertise them as slot machines so I’d take their word for it that they are. There are a lot of gaming machines that apparently don’t qualify as slot machines because they aren’t a random number generating. But these machines that the tribes have are the same equipment you find in Las Vegas and all over Nevada.”
Idaho introduced the state lottery in 1988, the same year that IGRA was adopted by Congress. Under that law the five tribes operate video forms of the lottery, they say. IN 2002 the tribes persuaded voters to amend the state’s law to allow machines other than lottery machines, as long as they only used cash out tickets. That means they did not fit the definite of “slot” machines.
Idaho sued and in 2006 the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the tribes’ interpretation. In 2009 the Idaho Supreme Court ruled that the state could no longer legally challenge the constitutionality of the tribes’ machines.
The new bill would amend the constitution to remove the section that was added in 2002. This would ban the machines as slot machines, even if they don’t have levers or slots.
Crane, who said he only voted to advance the bill so he could inform himself more about the issue, said “This issue has been addressed in the judicial branch and now they want to get the Legislature involved. I’m not convinced that’s going to happen.”
Others who support the bill say they want to close a loophole that allows the tribes to violate the state constitution.
Tribal members say their sovereignty is under assault. “This is highly unnecessary,” said Rep. Paulette Jordan. A member of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, she voted against the bill. “I don’t believe this bill will make it out of committee and I would urge the chairman to reread our laws.”
