Christian Life Commission
Baptist General Convention of Texas
Stop the Expansion of Casino Gambling
A major court decision (Cornyn: Ysleta, 2001) has ruled that Indian gambling is PROHIBITED in Texas.
The Texas – US- tribal agreement is called the Restoration Act.
It says each tribe and their limits of sovereignty are established by agreements between governments and tribes. Regarding gaming: “All gaming activities which are prohibited by the laws of the State of Texas are hereby prohibited on the reservation and on lands of the tribe. Any violation of the prohibition provided in this subsection shall be subject to the same civil and criminal penalties that are provided by the laws of the State of Texas. The provisions of this subsection are enacted in accordance with the tribe’s request in Tribal Resolution No. T. C. -02-86 which was approved and certified on March 12, 1986. “
United States Code Title 25 – Indians; Chapter 14, Subchapter LXXVIII (a) Sec 1300g-6. Gaming Activities.
As long as the State of Texas prohibits level 3 gaming, Indian tribes are prohibited as well.
Are VLT slots Level 3 Gaming?
(AG’s office) _ Chapter 29 IGRA section 2703 Class 1 - Social games for prizes of minimal value or traditional forms of Indian gaming…. Class 2 - Game of chance “Bingo” for prizes, card games explicitly authorized by the laws of the state, does not banking card games (baccarat, ___ Black Jack). Does not include electric or electronic games of chance or slot machines of any kind…. Class 3 - All forms that are not class 1 or 2.
Allowing Texas to perform class 3 gambling allows tribes to perform that level of gambling as well.
What’s next? If the state and the tribes are allowed to perform level 3 gaming, the corporate casinos would likely sue allowing:
ALL FORMS OF GAMBLING!
CLC BGCT 1 paynter@bgct.