Foxwoods Not Happy With PlayAway Decition
Published: Monday, August 15, 2005 Online-Casinos.com
FOXWOODS THREATENS LITIGATION OVER PLAYAWAY DECISION
Tribe has a different view to the Division of Special Revenue
Associated Press reports this week suggest that Foxwoods is far from happy with the Connectict state ban on their new PlayAway Internet game (see Online-Casinos.com & InfoPowa bulletins last week) and is prepared to resort to litigation if necessary.
Officials at Foxwoods say they will delay but not cancel the game's launch and suggest the issue might have to be settled in court.
George Henningsen, chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot tribe's gaming commission, wrote a letter to the state Department of Special Revenue, saying the tribe hoped the issue could be settled "...without the necessity of litigation."
The game allows players to buy keno tickets at the casino, then check online to see whether they won. That much is already legal, but the new software simulates casino games such as poker, blackjack or slot machines instead of simply displaying a winning keno number.
The state says that's an illegal expansion of gaming off the reservation. The tribe argues it's just a fancy way of displaying keno results, which are like lottery drawings. Gamblers can't influence the results and all the bets are placed on the reservation.
"It is apparent we have different views on virtually every aspect of your analysis/conclusions," Henningsen wrote.
The tribe shut down the "PlayAway" game shortly after launching it last month. They had planned to restart it August 15. Henningsen said that date has been delayed to allow more discussion with regulators.
"To that end there is no 'new' restart date, and you will be advised of any proposed restart at least 72 hours in advance," he wrote in the letter.
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said earlier that he'll go to court to keep the game off-line, saying it's a slippery slope toward unregulated Internet gambling.
