Attorney General's News Release

Dec. 29, 1997

Nixon says no to Internet Indian gaming

Jefferson City, Mo. — Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon said today attempts by Indian tribes to offer gaming over the Internet are in violation of Missouri gaming laws and the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, known as IGRA.

In public comments filed with the National Indian Gaming Commission, Nixon said neither IGRA nor the use of the Internet should allow the circumvention of Missouri laws. The Missouri constitution and statutes allow gambling only under limited and highly regulated circumstances. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act allows certain types of gambling on "Indian land."

"Missouri has no federally recognized Indian tribes nor any Indian reservation or trust land," Nixon said. "When a tribe offers or promotes gambling over the Internet to Missouri citizens located in our state, then Missouri laws apply."

Nixon first raised the issue of Indian gaming in Missouri in 1996 when he filed a lawsuit against the federal government to guarantee that Missouri will have an opportunity to challenge any attempt by Indian tribes to acquire Missouri land for gambling. Following Nixon's filing, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a South Dakota case that states are allowed such a guarantee.

"We fought to keep land-based casinos out of Missouri, and we will fight to keep Internet casinos and lotteries out of Missouri," Nixon said.

Earlier this year Nixon filed a lawsuit against the Coeur d'Alene Tribe of Idaho to prevent it from offering and promoting a lottery and other games of chance in Missouri through the Internet.

Nixon's fight to patrol cyberspace is not limited to Indian gaming. He received the nation's first civil judgment against an Internet gaming company from Pennsylvania and later filed criminal charges against the company and its president. In addition, he has sued a beer company in North Carolina that accepted and shipped an online beer order to a Missouri minor.

"There is no legal reason why Missouri laws do not and should not apply to transactions occurring in Missouri and involving Missouri citizens merely because the transaction occurs through the Internet," Nixon said.

His comments will be published in the Federal Register at the request of the Indian Gaming Commission. The commission is writing regulations to govern attempts by certain federally recognized Indian tribes to offer and promote gambling through the Internet

Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).

All media inquiries should be directed to Press Secretary John Fougere.

E-mail      Phone: 573-751-8844         Fax: 573-751-5818