BOISE, Idaho (AP) – The director of the Idaho Lottery says the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s use of video gaming machines is legal and has already been upheld by the federal courts.
Jeffrey Anderson wrote the letter about the legality of gaming on Idaho tribal reservations in response to a request from four northern Idaho lawmakers. The lawmakers – Republican Sen. Bob Nonini and Reps. Vito Barbieri, Ron Mendive and Sage Dixon – wanted him to investigate if the machines are in compliance with Idaho’s constitution, which specifically bans slot machines.
Both tribal video gaming machines and instant horse racing terminals have been under close scrutiny this year as lawmakers and industry leaders debate whether they are, in fact, slot machines.
Lawmakers approved the instant horse racing terminals in 2013 in hopes of revitalizing the flagging horse racing industry, but this year are pushing to repeal the law, saying they did not realize the terminals would be so much like slot machines. Idaho voters approved tribal gaming machines in a ballot initiative passed in 2002.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.
