The Region : Indians Win Bingo Fight

State-mandated bingo laws cannot be enforced by Riverside County sheriff’s deputies on the Soboba Band of Mission Indian reservation near Hemet, U.S. District Judge Laughlin Waters ruled in Los Angeles. Waters said he granted the preliminary injunction, despite reservations about recent appellate court rulings concerning Indian-sponsored bingo. The Indians contend that they have the right to stage bingo games on the reservation under federal law, without state regulations. The state restricts items like payoffs, frequency of games and use of bingo-generated funds. The Bingo Palace in Hemet is providing sorely needed jobs for the Indians, argued attorney Harrison Hertzberg, representing the Sobobas. Waters said he disagreed with appellate court rulings regarding the rights of Indians on their reservations, suggesting that the courts “had made a mess of it.” “But it’s the law, judge,” Hertzberg countered.