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NOVEMBER 1, 2000

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday ruled that the "MegaMania" bingo game operated by two Oklahoma tribes can be operated without a gaming compact with the state.

The Circuit Court upheld a District Court ruling which concluded the devices were Class II gaming machines. Tribes can operate Class II games, such as bingo, without negotiating for a state compact.

But federal authorities and the state took the position that the game's nature moved it past the usual Class II classification. MegaMania is a bingo-like game which are linked to other machines throughout the country, both on and off reservations.

On New Year's Eve in 1997, federal prosecutors were able to shut down the machines at facilities operated by the Cherokee Nation and the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe. The tribes sought to keep the devices in operation while the issue was considered in federal court.

Last year, US District Judge Terry C. Kern for the District of Oklahoma ruled in favor of the tribe, and the game's supplier, Multimedia. The federal government appealed but the Ninth Circuit ruled against them.

The Ninth Circuit also considered a similar issue and ruled against the government in August.

Get the Case:
USA v. Multimedia Gambling Devices (Tenth Circuit. No. 99_5064. October 2000)

Related Case:
USA v. Electronic Gaming (Ninth Circuit. No. 9915675. August 2000)