It’s there on the website – Foxwoods PlayAway. The Mashantucket Pequots who run the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut are advertising their new game, describing it as “Our exclusive new way to play slots, card games and your other favorite games anytime you choose, anywhere there’s a computer!” A free demo and tour are provided and the Games Menu invites you to choose games such as Fountain of Cash, Money Hand Blackjack or Casino Safe Cracker.

Foxwoods PlayAway – Play Any Time offers big cash payouts and great casino action at home. The tickets are available at ticket counters within Foxwoods Resort Casino and come with an access code to be entered on the PlayAway page of Foxwoods’ website from any computer. That is the argument that the Mashantucket Pequots are using to defend their decision to offer what would appear to be online gambling. That it is online gambling would appear to be evident, and that is the position being taken by the Attorney General.

This difference of opinion stems from the fact that a player has no control over the outcome of the game and no financial transactions take place over the Internet. A computer at Foxwoods Resort Casino previously determines the results, tickets are bought at the casino and winnings must be claimed back at the casino, so there is no online gambling according to the tribe. However, the Attorney General is of the opinion that the games due to be launched in August may be illegal. One preoccupation is the lack of control over preventing underage gambling, but Foxwoods state that it would be monitored exactly the same as any other game. Meetings between the two sides to clarify the situation are being arranged.

The boundaries set by state and federal gambling laws are again being tested because it will be possible to play Foxwoods games online anywhere in the United States, just the same as logging on to an ‘illegal’ offshore operation. The fact that any tickets and winnings would have to be bought and collected in person in Connecticut may prove to be irrelevant in the eyes of the law. (E-07.20.05)

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