Foxwoods 'Playaway' Declared Illegal
Published: Friday, August 12, 2005 Online-Casinos.com
FOXWOODS "PLAYAWAY" DECLARED ILLEGAL
Indian tribe 'reviewing' official decision
Foxwoods' attempt to introduce the Internet-based PlayAway game suffereed a setback as we went to press on the news that Connecticut Division of Special Revenue has ruled that the game violates state and federal gambling laws.
The state informed the Mashantucket Pequot tribe, which owns and operates the successful southeastern Connecticut casino, that it may not offer the game on the casino's Web site and may not offer any other game online.
State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said he's prepared to defend the decision in court. "This game is a new game. It is a departure from the existing gambling practices that exist on the reservation," Blumenthal said.
The PlayAway promotion was advertised by Foxwoods as, "Our exclusive new way to play slots, card games and your other favorite games anytime you choose, anywhere there's a computer!"
It allowed gamblers to buy keno tickets with an Internet access code at the casino, check the tickets' status at home, and then play a number of games such as simulated slot machines or a hand of blackjack or poker. The results were predetermined by the keno numbers.
The state said the game illegally expands gaming off the reservation, promotes gambling to minors and deceives players into believing they're playing games of chance, such as poker, when they're actually playing a game based on predetermined results.
"The Web site play added nothing to the outcome, though it did appear to mislead the player to believe that he or she was controlling the outcome and the amount won," Paul A. Young, executive director of the Division of Special Revenue, wrote in a letter to the casino. "Simply put, PlayAway is a keno-based interactive game played on the Internet, off of the reservation, for promotional purposes. We have concluded that PlayAway, which utilizes the Internet, would be illegal in Connecticut.''
The PlayAway Web site did not explain that the fancy blackjack and slot machine graphics were just a way to heighten the experience of checking for a winning keno ticket.
George Henningsen, chairman, Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation Gaming Commission, said they were reviewing the state's ruling. He declined further comment.
Foxwoods is the first casino in the country to try this type of Internet venture. If it ultimately succeeds, members of the National Indian Gaming Association expect the idea will attract other interested tribes. Casino regulators in New Jersey have said they are also watching the Connecticut case.
