Supreme Court Rules States Can’t Regulate Indians’ Bingo Games

The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that states may not regulate gambling on Indian reservations, dealing California a defeat in its attempt to stop high-stakes bingo games in Riverside County.

In clearing the way for the multimillion-dollar betting parlors on Indian land, the high court said that California permits and “actually promotes gambling” in several forms and therefore cannot ban it on reservations. The justices also discounted the state’s claim that the threat of “criminal infiltration” justifies strict regulation.

The Indian bingo games, which offer big jackpots to draw thousands of non-Indians, “provide the sole source of revenues” for many tribes, said Justice Byron R. White in writing for the 6-3 majority. “Self-determination and economic development are not within reach if the tribes cannot raise revenues and provide employment for their members,” he added.

Fast-Growing Business

High-stakes bingo has been the fastest growing Indian business in recent years, as more than 100 betting operations have opened on reservations nationwide. California attorneys said that several bingo parlors in Riverside County have revenues of more than $1 million a month. Some lure customers by giving away cars and boats, and one reservation offered a bingo jackpot of $100,000, the court was told.

Seeing a “serious risk” of organized crime taking over these unregulated operations, 19 states joined California in urging the Supreme Court to authorize states or local governments to oversee the operations.

But the court concluded that the interest of the tribes outweighs the worries of the states.

Glenn Feldman, a Phoenix lawyer who represented the Cabazon Indians before the court, called Wednesday’s decision “a significant victory for tribal self-government and tribal sovereignty. Bingo is a crucial operation for more than 100 tribes.”

‘Upholding Indian Law’

Barbara Karshmer, attorney for the Morongo band of Mission Indians near Banning that has operated bingo off and on since 1985 and draws about 1,000 players nightly, hailed the Supreme Court’s decision as “upholding 150 years of federal Indian law which the state wanted to change.”

Jerry Levine, attorney for the San Manuel band of Mission Indians near Highland, in San Bernardino County, which opened a 2,600-seat bingo hall last July, said the ruling “should have long-range implications for tribes in general, and particularly on issues of sovereignty and the relationship between tribes and other government entities, such as cities and states.”

Roderick Walston, California deputy attorney general, said he was disappointed by the ruling and said it appears to go against a court trend of permitting more state regulation of Indian lands.

Luring Customers

The state contended that the Indian gambling was luring customers by flagrantly violating the state’s $250 limit on bingo jackpots.

“We created the market they are exploiting,” Walston said.

In his opinion, White said that states are permitted to stop “criminal” conduct on Indian lands, but not to engage in “civil regulation.” Since California authorizes gambling in many forms, White reasoned, it could not label gambling on Indian lands as criminal.

“California itself operates a state lottery and daily encourages its citizens to participate in this state-run gambling,” White said. The state also permits betting on horse races and allows bingo games that benefit charities, he noted.

In dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens said that high-stakes bingo is clearly illegal under California law. The Indians’ need for stable sources of revenue “does not in my opinion justify tribal operation of currently unlawful commercial activities,” he wrote. “Accepting the majority’s reasoning would require exemptions for cock fighting, tattoo parlors, nude dancing, houses of prostitution and other illegal but profitable enterprises.” His dissent in the case (California vs. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, 85-1708) was joined by Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Antonin Scalia.