Attorney General's News Release

September 22, 1999

Federal judge grants Nixon's motion to send Indian Internet gambling cases back to state courts

Kansas City, Mo. — Attorney General Jay Nixon won another round in his battle against illegal Internet gambling on Tuesday when a federal judge in Kansas City agreed that the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) does not apply in two lawsuits Nixon filed to stop an Idaho tribe's website from offering online gambling to Missourians.

By granting Nixon's motion to send the cases back to state courts in Jackson and Madison counties, District Court Judge Howard Sachs sustained the state's argument that IGRA does not apply in the cases and that the gambling occurs in Missouri where the bettor is and not on the Coeur d'Alene reservation. Congress passed IGRA in 1988; the federal act allows tribes to conduct gambling on Indian lands under limited circumstances.

Tribal officials and the operators of the website had the original lawsuits removed from state court to federal court over the objections of the state. Nixon filed lawsuits in May 1997 and January 1998 on the grounds that Internet gambling is illegal in Missouri and that the tribe misrepresented that it was legal for Missourians to participate in the online gambling offered on the website.

"After more than two years of fighting to get this matter back in a Missouri court, we now will have the opportunity to prove in a proper venue that online gambling is illegal in the state of Missouri and that the Coeur d'Alene cannot represent that it is legal in this state," Nixon said.

The Coeur d'Alene have stopped offering online gambling, pending the outcome of Nixon's suits and other legal action.

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