Tribal Casinos and Online Poker


Will this one really fly?
 
The Atlantis Internet Group claims that it has found a way in which US tribal casino patrons in over 30 states will be empowered to play legal online poker.
 
The company claims that it has signed a licensing agreement with online poker provider Cake Gaming NV which allows patrons in tribal casinos to play poker online, backed by the legal opinion of the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) for its patent pending "Casino Gateway Network" – a private gaming network on Indian Lands.
 
"This revolutionary technology will allow tribal casinos to offer a form of Internet poker across state lines," a spokesman for Atlantis said this week.
 
While the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act put an end to ‘illegal' Internet gambling financial transactions in the U.S., it maintained exemptions for Indian Casinos and Intertribal Internet gaming and for individual states that pass Intrastate Internet gaming legalization, the spokesman pointed out.
 
The deal with the Cake Network and the tribes means that Atlantis will be the only officially legal poker network operating in more than one state at a time, the spokesman said.
 
"Our Indian version of the CGN, called the ‘Tribal Gaming Network' offers an immediate and legal solution to Indian casinos nationwide, providing the largest online poker network in the U.S. This is a significant milestone for ATIG and Cake, and will become an immediate economic shot in the arm for tribes and states facing deficits nationwide," boasted Donald L. Bailey, CEO of Atlantis, in a company statement.
 
The statement reveals that Atlantis presented its technology to the NIGC, the federal agency that co-regulates all Indian Casinos, and in September 2009 received a favourable opinion allowing it to operate its network in all Indian Casinos nationwide. The TGN System allows players to play on a private gaming network, i.e., "Wide Area Progressive" (WAP), Class III, Class II and online games on Indian lands.