Bingo decision backs county's rule, sort of

Critics say e-bingo should be considered slot machines.

Local charities banking on electronic bingo scored a victory Friday when Superior Court Judge Patrick Marlette upheld Sacramento County's ordinance allowing some versions of the slot-style devices.

But their victory may be short-lived.

The issue before the court Friday was whether paper cards were needed to define a game as bingo. Friday's ruling appears, however, to provide little closure on the issue. The bingo machine company that challenged the county ordinance after its machines were excluded says it will fight on, and Indian casino interests are stepping up efforts to stop charities from using the bingo machines.

Indian gambling interests, arguing that the machines infringe on their exclusive rights to operate slot machines, are threatening to withhold millions of dollars owed the state.

"If it looks like a slot machine and plays like a slot machine, it's a slot machine," said Doug Elmets, spokesman for the United Auburn Indian Community, which operates Thunder Valley Casino. "We consider this a violation of our compact and are withholding the quarterly payment."

The tribe's compact with the state calls for a $10.3 million payment in April, said Sabrina Lockhart, a spokeswoman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

She said the Governor's Office received an e-mail on the issue about two weeks ago and hoped to resolve the dispute before April. "We are currently determining whether the bingo machines are gaming devices under the terms of the compact," Lockhart said.

As recently as last summer, the attorney general's Division on Gambling Control reiterated a long-standing attorney general's position that bingo involves paper games, ink daubers and live callers.

Elmets said the influx of e-bingo machines is being driven by manufacturers who are trying to market slot machines under a different name.

Disabled Sport USA, is among the local charities that have become increasingly reliant on revenue from electronic bingo machines to supplement its take from called games.

Doug Pringle, the charity's president, said the money spent on e-bingo in bingo parlors is small potatoes compared to what the Indian casinos make on their machines.

Thunder Valley Casino is one of the nation's most profitable Indian gambling centers, making an estimated $400 million profit a year.

In the first two quarters of the current fiscal year, the North Watt bingo parlor run by Disabled Sport USA had $5.3 million in revenue and a net profit of $398,000.

"I just can't imagine that we are a threat to these casinos," Pringle said. Besides, he argued: "We're operating bingo machines - not slot machines."

In his five-page ruling, Marlette stressed the need for paper cards in a bingo game.

Attorney Steven Ruehmann, who represents New Vision Entertainment, the company fighting the ordinance, and an attorney working for gambling interests, said the ruling means paper cards must be produced before the game is played for the game to be considered bingo.

County officials dispute that, saying the ruling allows machines that could print out game sheets after play.

At Friday's hearing Ruehmann asked the judge to clarify the timing question, but Marlette declined.

After the hearing, Ruehmann said his client will try to enforce his no paper, no bingo interpretation. "If the county refuses to enforce the law, they will be back here on contempt charges, probably within a week," Ruehmann said.

Written by Ed Fletcher

www.sacbee.com