KENO AND TRIBAL—STATE AGREEMENTS
Both the California Supreme Court and a federal district court in South Dakota have ruled that keno is not a lottery game (Western Telcon v. California State Lottery, 13 Cal. 4th 475 (1996)); Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe v. U. S. 804 F. Supp, 1199 (D. S. D. 1992)). But the rulings are not binding on Connecticut courts. In Western Telcon, the California Supreme Court ruled that the keno game offered by the California State Lottery (CSL) was not a lottery game because it pitted bettors against CSL, which as banker, bet against each participant. Also, the game did not offer a prize by chance, which is characteristic of lottery games. Instead, CSL could win all the bets and never pay a prize, or it could lose all the bets and pay a prize to each participant.
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California does not allow banked or percentage card gambling
Current controversy has surrounds the use of gaming devices similar to slot machines in California's tribal casinos. Indian tribes in the state operate an estimated 8,300 gaming devices on their reservation casinos. These devices resemble traditional one-armed bandit slot machines, but operate slightly different: players feed paper bill currency into the machines' and push buttons. When a player cashes out, they push a button on the machine and a redeemable receipt emerges, exchangeable for cash. The games include video poker, video keno, and a variation of a matching game, similar to the typical three-object slot machine. California does not allow banked or percentage card gambling, which falls under Class III. With the uncertain exception of video lottery machines (video keno), slot machines are prohibited under California law.
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