An agreement this week between the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians (LVD Chippewas), and dot com Entertainment Group Inc. has the potential to change the way Indian gaming is conducted in the United States.
"It is going to shake a lot of people up," said Scott White, President and CEO of dot com.
The LVD tribe has agreed to used dot com’s wholly-owned subsidiary corporation, dot com (Antigua) Ltd., to provide the tribe with a complete Internet Bingo system which will be placed at the tribes land-based casino operation in Watersnmeet, Mich.
The two sides entered into a non-binding preliminary term sheet. The deal will be finalized once a binding license agreement is reached at the earliest date possible. The license agreement has been prepared in draft form and is being reviewed by legal counsel. The agreement calls for dot com to deliver and install the system. In the meantime, the preliminary term sheet will allow for both parties to focus on hardware, software, communication and e-commerce systems that will make up the Internet bingo platform.
Under the guidelines of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 (IGRA) Indian tribes are allowed to conduct gaming activities on their reservations. The gaming activities are grouped into three different classifications. Class I gaming includes social gaming played for minimal prizes or traditional gaming that is played in connection with tribal ceremonies or celebrations. Class I gaming is regulated exclusively by the tribes.
Class II gaming is described as "the game of chance, commonly known as bingo (whether or not electronic, computer, or other technologic are used in connection therewith).
Under the IGRA guidelines, any tribe can conduct bingo on its reservations as long as it is in a state where the activity is allowed. Under the act, Class II gaming is regulated by the tribe and the National Indian Gaming Commission.
White said the IGRA will be a guide for making sure the agreement meets high standards.
"We are very excited to have been selected as the supplier of Internet Bingo technology, in this ground-breaking move by our friends at the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians," he said. "We are presently reviewing all of the technical and other requirements which will be critical in the finalization of this license arrangement, including our compliance with Class II gaming requirements under the act."
Officials with the tribe declined to comment when reached by IGN, choosing instead to have White address any questions. The tribe isn’t new to the gaming sector, with its land-based operation and having brought that casino online already, but White said they are breaking new ground in bringing the bingo platform to the Internet.
"This is quite a bold move," he said.
dot com is a leading supplier of Internet bingo technology and one of the first companies in the world to develop and license multi-play, pay-for-play bingo technology.