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A New Twist on Reservation Gambling

© Shadow Hawk

For the 1,400 members of the Coeur d'Alene tribe, living on the 345,000-acre reservation in Northern Idaho, the Internet is definitely the place to be. In February 1998, they introduced the U.S. Lottery, an online gambling site, in hopes of adding badly needed revenue to their coffers.

With location being one of the biggest obstacles to overcome with Indian gaming, the concept of an easily accessible Internet site is definitely one with promise to this Native American community.

The Coeur d'Alene tribe, in conjunction with UniStar Entertainment, their corporate partners, first offered instant win bingo games along with scratch lottery games, and now also offer a weekly six-number draw lottery which guarantees a weekly prize of $1 million or more.

The tribe runs the Lottery operation from their bingo and casino hall located on the reservation. There they have their own server, along with all other necessary equipment to conduct operations.

The U.S. Lottery has met opposition from outside sources, such as other states that have their own lotteries, and those who are fearful that the concept of Internet gambling will only increase the number of people addicted to gaming. Some are worried that children with access to their parents' credit cards could use it to gamble, but the site is protected against such abuses. The fact that Indian gaming laws require the games to be located on the reservation has also been brought up, but the tribe feels that since all of the equipment used to run the Internet operation is located on the reservation, they are within these laws.

Revenue earned from the enterprise will be used to fund badly needed programs on the reservation. Hospitals, schools, roads, and housing are just a few of the projects that will receive the benefits of increased reservation income. Five percent of the revenue will be donated to non-gaming tribes to use for improvements on their respective reservations.

The Coeur d'Alene also hope to use profits from the lottery to clean up the Coeur d'Alene River basin and the lake into which it drains, which have been polluted from years of drainage by mining operations in the area. The tribe filed a lawsuit in 1991, suing the mining industry for the pollution of the river and lake. The tribe is currently awaiting the court decision.

For more information on the U.S. Lottery and Indian gaming in general, please visit the U.S. Lottery web site. The Coeur d'Alene tribe also has an excellent page on their history, which will provide you with more information on the tribe.