What the Morongo Band of Mission Indians is trying to do in California is admirable.  By bringing in regulated online poker they could pave the way legalizing online casinos on a state by state basis.  Unfortunately, the way they are going about it is not very popular and several officials are taking issue with it. 

The Morongo have not yet found an author to create an official bill for California legislation to review.  In the meantime a draft of the bill is circulating.  The language in that draft has a lot of important members of the California tribal gaming scene more that a little concerned.

Cheryl Schmit of the Stand Up for California tribal gaming watchdog group says language of the draft bill is so vague that it opens the door for the Morongo to offer much more than online poker.  Although it may not make room for full online casinos it certainly opens the door for other card games like paigow.

It also appears to Schmit that the tribe is trying to get around the legal parameters set on what type of gambling tribes are allowed to offer with the uses of online gaming.  Near the end of the draft a section states “Personal, networked, or server computers are not included within the term ‘slot machine’ or ‘gambling device.”

“What they’re trying to do here is fishy,” said Schmit.

“They think by changing the definition, they’re going to get around the legality of it. They can’t.”

Schmit also believes that by stationing the headquarters for this partnership with card clubs in Delaware, the tribe is trying to evade taxes.