NIGC extends comment period on Class II rules again

Friday, December 15, 2006  

The National Indian Gaming Commission has extended the comment period on the proposed Class II technical regulations.

Comments are being accepted until January 31 in response to tribal concerns, said NIGC Chairman Phil Hogen. "The comments received at the Tribal Advisory Committee meeting last week in Washington, D.C., and follow up comments we have received have given us good reason to extend the comment period for the technical regulations," Hogen said.

The proposed regulation would establish technical standards for Class II games such as bingo, lotto and pull tabs. "We believe that our goals of assuring integrity in the industry and protecting tribal assets in a secure technological environment can be met through this set of regulations," Hogen said.

The technical standards are part of a package of Class II proposals the NIGC released earlier this year. Tribes have overwhelmingly opposed the changes, saying they will wreck the $23 billion Indian gaming industry.

Although comments are still being taken on the technical standards, the comment period for proposed Class II classification standards and Class II definitions ends today.