From: bear@eagle.fsl.noaa.gov (Bear Giles)
Date: Wed, 23 Jun 93 12:53:26 PDT
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: Digital Cash$$$$
Message-ID: <9306231950.AA21578@eagle.fsl.noaa.gov>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


>As far as using digibanks on Native American territory, most of the
>rules restricting Federal control seem pretty flexible when the Feds want
>something, and even states can often get away with restricting gambling
>on reservations.  Also, the Constitution gives CONgress the power to
>regulate commerce with foreign nations, Indian tribes, and between states,
>so they can still regulate any interactions between digibanks on
>Indian reservations and elsewhere.  (Sigh - the Commerce Clause has been
>rabidly overused, but it's written in a way that lets them do nearly anything.)

This still raises some interesting possibilities:

Items:

  Federal law requires that Indian tribes be permitted to offer all
  forms of gambling permitted _anywhere_ under state law. 

  Indian reservations have a serious problem with poverty, unemployment,
  etc.

  Most gambling is hard to arrange at a distance, but it is possible
  to form _digital cards_ and then play any of the usual card games.

Idea:

  An Indian tribe in an appropriate jursidiction installs a Internet
  node with digital cash (backed by checks, credit cards, etc) and
  _digital cards_.  Or even a Compuserve account. (ugh).  Anything,
  as long as the processor is located on Indian land.

  It offers real-time poker games.  For real money.  From anywhere in
  the world.  :-)

  (BTW, you would _not_ offer blackjack, or only with _very_ large
  decks, because of the large potential for card counting programs).

  Just to confuse issues further, the poker software is owned by a
  nonprofit organization and licensed to the Indian nation with the
  condition that a portion of their profits go towards education.

  When someone claims that the tribe is offering gambling in an area
  where it is prohibited, you can legitimately claim that the actual
  processing is done on the Indian land; the only thing done in
  other jurisdictions is communications.  
  
  Example: if a man stood just outside of the reservation and yelled 
  instructions to a confederate at a game just inside the boundary, would
  that be illegal gambling _on the part of the House_?

  In this case, digital cash isn't _required_ since the House could
  simply keep accounting records directly.  However, it would make it
  simpler for the House to honor outside bets, if a person could get
  a "chip" from the House, pay off a bet to a third party with the
  "chip", and then the third party could use the "chip" himself.


Bear Giles

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