Authorities raided this illegal slot machine operation in 2013.. Photo from Cameron County District Attorney via La Feria News
Authorities in Texas have spent years trying to prevent tribes in Texas from offering gaming on their lands even as non-Indian options proliferate across the state. The establishments offer slot machines also known as eight-liners. The Texas Lottery Commission counts anywhere from 30,000 to 150,000 of the devices, which reportedly generate $1.9 billion a year. “It’s like the poor man’s speakeasy in Texas,” Richard B. Roper III, a former federal prosecutor, told The New York Times. Eight-liners are legal but state law bars operators from offering cash prizes as jackpots. Some offer cash payouts anyway due to lax regulation and law enforcement, the paper said. “They frankly are turning a blind eye to illegality,” a county attorney told the paper, referring to the state's position that local authorities are responsible for overseeing the operations. “As pretty much everybody in the county knows, there are cash payouts. You see postings on Facebook of people winning.” In contrast, the state took the Tigua Tribe to court over a similar operation on its reservation. A federal judge ordered the tribe to cease operations and to explain how it will comply with state law. The state previously went to court to shut down the tribe's casino in 2001. The state also shut down a casino owned by the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe. When both tribes were restored to federal recognition, Congress included a provision that linked them to state gambling laws. The restriction is not imposed on the Kickapoo Tribe but the state refuses to negotiate a Class III gaming compact. Get the Story:
A Texas Ban on Gambling That Doesn’t Quite Work (The New York Times 4/1)
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Opinion:
Expansion of gaming options not a good idea for Texas (3/30) Bills introduced to recognize gaming rights of all tribes in Texas (03/16)
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