Passed by the Californian Senate at the end of last month, bill number SB 1369 introduced by Senators Cedillo and Battin under the title ‘Remote caller bingo’, is now awaiting approval from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The bill, labelled as a late session gut and amend bill, is already raising concern amongst both smaller charities and legal experts, despite having the backing of the Catholic Church and tribal gaming operators.

“SB1369 is the quintessential example of stealth legislation and underscores what can go wrong when the legislature fails to adequately investigate all of a bill’s provisions and consequences, both intended and unintended, and bypasses the deliberative process.” This is the opinion of Harlan W. Goodson, attorney at law and a leading gaming law expert. Professor I Nelson Rose, the eminent gaming law expert, concurs, “It (SB 1369) has the potential for creating not only new competitors for the California State Lottery and every other form of legal gaming in the state. It also could lead to the greatest expansion of legal gambling in history.”

The bill outlaws the electronic bingo machines used widely across the state by charity bingo organisations. Remote caller bingo allows the computerized linking of bingo games, something supported by the Catholic Church as it would benefit from the new legislation but opposed by smaller charities that do not have the resources to offer the bigger games. The California Charity Bingo Association is appealing for Californians to call Governor Schwarzenegger and ask him to veto the bill.

If the new law is enacted it could mean that tribal gaming operators are allowed to legitimately offer Internet gambling, leading to the remark by I Nelson Rose about the greatest expansion of legal gambling in history. A clause in the Indian gaming compact states that if Internet gambling technology is opened for anyone in the state then the tribes have the right to use it. This in turn could mean tribal lotteries and even casino games online, and California could become the first US state to legalise online gambling.

Charities and non-profit organisations have for some years operated electronic bingo machines despite being warned by the Californian Attorney General that they are illegal except on tribal land. In June proposed legislation (SB 864) was introduced that would confiscate, destroy and impose mandatory fines of US$10,000 on each machine found off reservation, as well as adding a bounty hunter provision to encourage civil actions brought by private citizens in a move to prevent the proliferation of the illegal machines.

The Cedillo bill, a gutted and amended bill on school lunches, would end the discussion on the legality of charity gaming machines. It would also allow the big charities, such as the Catholic Church, to increase their bingo prizes. The Bingo Association sees the bill as devastating for the majority of non-profit organisations, which rely on gaming machines for funding. It objects to SB1369 being pushed through without public debate or hearings and says that it jeopardises the future of the California lottery, already one of the worst performing lotteries in the US. (E-09.22.08)

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