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Tribal VP Gambling

5d. Re: Tribal VP Gambling
Posted by: "Bill Coleman" vphobby2@cox.net billc140
Date: Fri Jun 26, 2009 1:39 pm ((PDT))

By the regulatory authority set up in that jurisdiction. All Indian
casinos are regulated by the Federal Government and their Tribal
authority. Additionally in many states the State also regulates them.
Every state with commercial casinos and racinos has a regulatory
body. So yes, my statement is objective fact.

A number of people poo-poo this setup for tribal casinos. A number of
people also believe that most casinos including those in Nevada gaff
the machines to cheat them. A number of people also believe in Santa
Claus. Do as you wish, I can only provide objective facts, not opinions.

Please don't respond again with your skepticism unless you can back
it up with FACTS.

First of all, please be assured I am not disagreeing with the fact that regulatory authorities of some kind "regulate" all casinos (except of course underground / illegal ones) in the U.S.

What I will challenge is the degree to which that regulation brings the intended results. Again, in almost all cases, I think regulations are established and enforced properly. But regulatory bodies are usually appointed by government, and being composed of individuals who may or may not (1) understand the games (2) understand the regulations they are supposed to enforce, and (3) be honest, they are subject to mistakes or intentional misconduct.

I don't have all the details at hand, but the example that comes to mind is the online poker scandal at a couple of sites which, as I recall, were "regulated" by an Indian tribal gambling regulatory agency. While it was not the agency's fault (in my opinion) that the cheating occurred, it is my understanding that the agency included members with financial interest in the poker sites, an obvious conflict of interest. Enforcement and investigation were not as vigorous as I would have expected of an "honest" agency.

Again, this is the exception, but when the regulatory agency is less than 100% honest -- or is incompetent, anything can happen.

Note: I still trust these agencies enough to play live games, video poker, and online poker without expending any of my energy worrying about whether they are fair and legal (although the online sites I play were not the ones implicated in the cheating scandal, and I see no reason to take a chance by ever playing one of those sites).

--BG

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