Lungren Wants Illegal Gambling Machines Seized

Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren announced Wednesday that he has called on law enforcement agencies around the state to seize illegal gambling machines on Indian reservations.

In a two-page letter to law enforcement officials, Lungren urged the confiscation of slot machine-type devices and prosecution of “individuals for the manufacture, possession and operation of (illegal) gambling equipment.”

Lungren also announced that he will form a task force of state and local law enforcement officials “to ensure that gambling on Indian lands in California will be ‘squeaky clean.’ ”

Eight California tribes include various types of gambling machines in reservation casinos. Three installed them just last month.

“The state has no jurisdiction . . . , “ said Vern Castro, chairman of the Table Mountain Rancheria outside Fresno, which brought in more than 100 machines this summer to bolster a marginally profitable bingo hall.

“We have the right to bring in whatever we choose,” Castro said, adding that the machines are “a hit with the people.”

Many sheriffs, prosecutors and police officials say that they are bewildered by the patchwork of state and federal laws, along with court decisions, that govern Indian gambling.

The federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act cleared the way for Indians to use gambling machines in a handful of states, such as Nevada and South Dakota, which have full casinos. But where gambling machines are banned, as in California, tribes are supposed to seek approval for them in compacts negotiated with the state. Nevertheless, gambling promoters have installed the lucrative devices without such agreements on dozens of reservations from coast to coast.

Lungren’s directive--sent Tuesday to the state’s district attorneys, city attorneys, sheriffs and chiefs of police--noted that the only gambling machines legal in California are “actual facsimiles of the game of bingo,” such as terminals than enable players to keep track of 250 bingo cards at once. “All other machines are illegal,” Lungren said.

Dave Puglia, a spokesman for Lungren, said the attorney general’s task force will coordinate its efforts with surrounding states and work with tribal officials.

“We want to prevent criminal activity,” Puglia said, but “also to ensure the tribes have the opportunity to continue to reap the economic benefits that gaming on tribal lands brings.”