Tribes’ Plan for ‘Satellite’ Bingo Game Challenged

A $1-million bingo game that Indian tribes in three states plan to conduct among themselves via satellite is getting the attention of authorities who say the interstate scheme may be illegal.

A spokesman for the Muckleshoot Indians in Auburn said the bingo bonanza among tribes in Washington, California and Florida is scheduled for May 4.

Satellite-linked television transmissions would allow players in the three states to compete in the six-hour event for prizes ranging from $10,000 to $250,000.

The Washington Gambling Commission, the U.S. attorney’s office and the California attorney general’s office have indicated they are investigating the plan.

Rudolf Corona, a California deputy attorney general, said he believes the game would be illegal because it would violate federal regulations prohibiting interstate transmissions of lottery or gambling information.

He also said authorities fear that Indian reservations could become miniature gambling sites with little or no regulation if bingo and similar schemes are allowed to continue.

But Indian spokesman Tony Herrara, who is business manager of the Muckleshoot tribe, said in Auburn that attorneys for the Seminole Indians in Tampa, Fla., and the Sycuans in San Diego have concluded the satellite game would not violate laws.