Tribe in California Launches Online Gaming Site

The Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel, a Native American tribe in California, went against California’s Internet gambling rules and law and launched its own real cash online gaming site in the US state, iGaming Business reports.

The new gaming site is called DesertRoseBingo.com and it currently offers online bingo with real money. The site was originally planned to offer online poker products, but if it avoids any big legal challenges from California gambling regulators it is expected to offer poker in future.

The US state of California is still considering legalizing online gaming but it hasn’t made any regulatory framework for this type of gambling yet. At the end of May, the California Conference on Online Gaming organized by Capitol Weekly held a conference where industry people expressed positive views about regulating online gambling in the state.

Is It Legal?

According to the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel tribe, they are allowed to offer Class II such as online bingo and poker under the Indian Regulatory Act (IGRA) of 1988 if and only online gambling is regulated by the tribal government and takes place on tribal lands. Class II games are poker and bingo, while Class III games such as house banked games and slots can be available for play only if the tribe makes an agreement with state regulators. On their website, the tribe said in a note that they are not planning to offer Class III games.

In a statement, the interactive director of marketing at Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel, Chris Wrieden, pointed out that many people believed that brining online gaming to California by the tribe has been nothing but a big bluff. “But I can tell you for sure it is not. It just took us a bit longer to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. With the launch of our online gaming site we put the bluff theory to rest and when we accept our first bet we will be on our way to creating industry change,” he added.

About Desert Rose Bingo

Desert Rose Bingo is using VPN technology provided by Great Luck and the type of bingo games that are currently available can only be seen when a user creates a new player account. The site doesn’t offer live bingo game action to players because under the law of Santa Ysabel gambling takes place on tribal land only under the jurisdiction of the tribal government and it works according to the IGRA.

Therefore, as of the beginning of November 2014, anyone who lives on tribal lands and is above 18 can create an account with Desert Rose Bingo and make a real money deposit of minimum $10 and maximum $200 per deposit. Players can buy bingo cards for a penny, five cents, 25 cents, half a dollar and one US dollar and play bingo. The site also offers special bingo bonuses and promotions. Details about the deposit and withdrawal options are scant.