Legislature Bans Certain Class of Electronic Bingo Games

A bill that would prohibit charities from using electronic bingo games was approved Friday by the state Legislature at the insistence of California Indian tribes.

The compromise by Democratic Sen. Gil Cedillo of Los Angeles prohibits the games, which work like slot machines. But it lets many charities employ so-called remote-caller technology, which uses audio or video equipment to run bingo games at multiple locations simultaneously.

California's attorney general and Indian tribes say electronic bingo violates state agreements that give tribes sole use of slot machines.

Attorney General Jerry Brown moved to stop their use by charities, but a federal judge issued an order in June temporarily preventing the state from seizing the machines. The judge's ruling came in a lawsuit by charities that rely on the revenue and by two people with disabilities who said the e-bingo machines enable them to play the game.

For more information, please see Calif. Senate approves ban on electronic bingo, Associated Press, August 29, 2008.