Philip Demarest, President 

The desMarets Corporation 

P.O. Box 36273 

Denver, Colorado 80236 

MAR 2 8 1996 

Dear Mr. Demarest: I 

This is in response to your letter of August 28, 1995, requesting 

the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) to review the card 

game, Jack Attack, and to determine its classification under the 

Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), 25 U.S.C. S 2701 a. u. 

(1988). 

Pursuant to the IGRA, class I1 gaming includes non-banking card 

games if such card games: 

(I) are explicitly authorized by the laws of the State, 

or 

(11) are not explicitly prohibited by the laws of the 

State, and are played at any location in the State, but 

only if such card games are played in conformity with 

those laws and regulations (if any) of the State 

regarding hours or periods of operation of such card 

games or limitations on wagers or pot sizes in such 

carb games: 

25 U. S.C. § 2703 (7) (A) (ii) . This opinion is confined to 

determining whether Jack Attack meets the non-banking requirement 

for class I1 status. 

t 

Jack ~ttgck is played like blackjack but in a non-banking format. 

Each player pays an ante to the house and places a wager which is 

placed in the llpotl'. All players at the table must place the 

same posted wager. Each player is initially dealt two cards. 

The objective is to get blackjack (an ace and a card valued at 

ten (10)) or to have the highest point total not exceeding 

twenty-one (21). The player with blackjack or, if no one has 

blackjack, with the highest point total not exceeding twenty-one 

wins the pot. If two or more players have black-jack or the 

highest point total, the game is a "tie" or a npushH, and no one 

wins the pot. All players who did not tie must place new wagers 

and pay an ante and those who did tie only pay an ante. The 

J wagers from the tie game roll over to the new game and become 

.- -__.____I- 144 1 L STREET. ._- N.~.~H~oR-~S~~N~~~~-~:C~~ -------.. ... .. ~,-20~~2-7003 FAX: 202-632-7066 
t part of the pot. Thus, there can only be one winner in the game. 

r The betting format and how a player wins differentiates Jack '- Attack from traditional blackjack. In Jack Attack there is no 

bank or banker taking on all players, collecting all losses, and 

paying all winners. Players play against each other in Jack 

Attack. In blackjack, "[elach player bets only with the dealeru 

or the house which is the banker. ~ichard L. Frey, ~ccordfng to 

Hoyle 205-206 (1970). ThusI a player's cards must beat only the 

dealer's cards in traditional blackjack. In Jack Attack, 

however, a player must beat all of the other playerst cards in 

order to win as in poker. The amount a player can win is also 

different. In blackjack, a playerts potential winnings is based 

on the amount he or she wagers while in Jack Attack, a player's 

winnings is based on the number of players in the game. These 

variations in the game are sufficient to conclude Jack Attack is 

not traditional blackjack by another name. 

The IGRA excludes from class I1 gaming Itany banking card games, 

including baccarat, chemin de fer, or blackjack (21)..." 25 

U.S.C.A. 5 2703(7)(B)(i). Although blackjack ie specifically 

excluded from class I1 gaming, the wording of this provision 

seemingly prohibits only banking game^. Thus, blackjack may be 

played as a class I1 game if played in a non-banking format. The 

legislative history of the IGRA supports this interpretation. 

The Senate Report on the IGRA describes the distinction between 

banking and non-banking card games as follows: 

Sections (4) (8) (A) (ii) provides that certain 

card games are regulated as class I1 games, 

with the rest being set apart and defined as 

class 111 games under section 4(9) and 

regulated pursuant to section ll(d). The 

distinction is between those garnee where , players play against each other rather that 

the house and those games where players play 

against the house and the house acts as 

banker. . . 

S. Rep. No. 100-446, 100th Cong., 2nd Sess. 9-10 (1988). 

Because the players play against each other rather than against 

the house or bank and the house has no stake in the outcome of 

the game, Jack Attack is not a banking game. We therefore 

conclude that Jack Attack meets the non-banking requirement for 

class I1 status. 

As stated above, in order to qualify as a class I1 game, Jack 

Attack must also: (1) be explicitly authorized by the laws of the 

state or (2) not be explicitly prohibited, be played at any 

location in the state, and conform to any state law or regulation 
/ limiting the hours or periods of operation of the card games or 

? lagers or pot sizes. 

.r41+&f you have any questions, please call this office at 202-632- 

7003. 

sincerely, 

Michael D. Cox 

General Counsel