NIGC proposes to classify one-touch bingo as Class II game

Friday, June 21, 2013  

The National Indian Gaming Commission is proposing to classify one-touch bingo as a Class II game, according to a forthcoming Federal Register notice.

The Bush administration in June 2008 rejected a gaming ordinance submitted by the Metlakatla Indian Community of Alaska because it treated one-touch bingo as a Class II game. Then-NIGC Chairman Phil Hogen said the game did not meet the definition of bingo because it was a "fully automated, fully electronic" system that eliminated certain elements of player participation.

The Obama administration is charting a different course. In the forthcoming notice, to be published June 25, the NIGC says the one-touch system meets the definition of bingo laid out in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and in existing regulations.

"The NIGC believes that this proposed reinterpretation is more in keeping with IGRA’s definition of bingo and will bring clarity to the industry," the notice states.

The notice will be subject to a 60-public comment period after it appears in the Federal Register.

Forthcoming Federal Register Notice:
Electronic One Touch Bingo System (To Be Published June 25, 2013)

Relevant Documents:
Disapproval of Metlakatla Indian Community Gaming Ordinance (June 4, 2008)
Metlakatla Indian Community Withdrawal of Appeal (August 20, 2008)