The Rules Review Committee of the South Dakota legislature recently passed a set of “game protection” rules in response to complaints the state gaming commission received about possible cheating at Deadwood casinos. South Dakota Gaming Commission Executive Secretary Larry Eliason said, “We took those allegations very seriously.”
Under the new rules, speaking any language other than English during Deadwood card games will not be allowed. Commission Attorney Mike Shaw said this rule can be legally enacted “because gaming is a suspect activity. It is not subject to the same protection that other activities are.” State Senator Jim Bradford said it would be unfair if, for example, two players at a table spoke Lakota and the other players did not. “Same with any language; you could manipulate the game,” Bradford said.
Eliason noted the “English only” rule is not an attempt to create an official language. “Its purpose is to prevent collusion among poker players. It is the same reason that we prohibited texting and other forms of communication that other players can’t understand or hear or see,” he said.
The new rules also ban the use of electronic devices by players to communicate with others while the players are at the card tables. They still may use devices to privately listen to songs or other recordings and broadcasts. “Some players like to listen to music and use earphones to blot out the distraction. But it would prohibit texting or telephoning while at the table,” Eliason said. He noted South Dakota’s changes are based on rules in Nevada and New Jersey.
