Larry Montgomery, Vice Chairman of the Board 

Multimedia Games, Inc. 

8900 Shoal Creek, Blvd. 

Suite 300 

Austin, TX 78757 

Dear Mr. Montgomery: 

This letter is in response to your request of December 22, 1998, for a National Indian 

Gaming Commission (NIGC) determination on whether Evergreen Bingo is a Class I1 or a Class 

I11 game. AAer review of your written submission, a field test by a staff member of the NIGC, 

and conversations with you and your staff, we have concluded that Evergreen Bingo is a Class I11 

game. 

Evergreen Bingo contains several features that are the subject of pending litigation in 

federal courts in Oklahoma and California. &g United States v. 162 Megamania Gambling, 

Devices. et al., D.C. No. 97-CV-1140-K(J) (N.D. Okla. 1999) (currently under appeal to the 

Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit); United States v. 103 Electronic Gambling Devices. etc., 

rl~f a, D.C. No. 98-CV-1984-CW (N.D. Cal. 1999) (currently under appeal to the Court of 

Appeals for the Ninth Circuit). At issue are the concepts of electronic bingo machines as Class I1 

gaming, interim games and the continuous win feature. Because of this litigation, we defer 

analysis of these concepts and features in the litigation until they are resolved. Evergreen Bingo 

contains other features, however, that are not at issue in the litigation and that, even assuming that 

the litigation is decided completely in Multimedia's favor, these features would result in the 

classification of this machine as Class I11 gaming. Further, given the widespread offering of 

Evergreen Bingo, the NIGC believes it necessary to issue this opinion to provide guidance to the 

regulated community. 

Description 

Evergreen is a game which links machines called electronic player stations (EPS) at 

several Indian gaming facilities to a central computer system to play a game that depicts an 

electronic bingo card, or at the player's election, which spin when the "Daub/Spinn button is 

pushed. Players are playing the same game whether they choose to play the screen which displays 

a card or the screen which displays reels. 

The displayed cards are look like standard bingo cards with five rows and five columns; 

with each column designated as "B," "I," "N," "G," or "0; and the twenty-five boxes are filled 

with numbers from 1 to 75. The players may change their cards before the next game begins. 

4lJ 

The object of the game is to be the first person to cover one of the four comers of the card. 

1441 L STREET, N.W. ROOR WASHINQTON, D.C. 20005 TEL: 202632-?O(X3 FAX: 202632-7086 
Thus, only the "B" and "0 balls are relevant to this game. 

14 A bingo blower draws balls from a standard bingo population of 75 balls. Balls are drawn 

for each game until a total of at least four "B or "0 balls are drawn. Drawn numbers are 

displayed on the screens of the machines. Players have three seconds following the display to 

press the "Daub/Spinm button or the player loses the opportunity to win (i.e., the player "sleeps" 

the bingo). According to Larry Montgomery's letter to Mai Dinh dated July 8, 1999, "it is 

physically possible to direct the EPS to daub an instant before [the] ball sequence appears." 

According to Mutimedia's literature, if the player is the first to cover a corner, he or she 

wins the game. There may be multiple winners. Those players who are the first to cover a corner 

in the first ball drawn may participate in a bonus game which awards additional prizes depending 

on the numbers of corners that are covered in relation to the number of balls drawn. Players may 

also participate in a different bonus game which also awards prizes depending on the number of 

corners covered in connection with the number of "B or "0" bails drawn. After the player 

initially daubs, the EPS automatically updates the daubs to determine if any bonus prizes are won. 

& Larry Montgomery's letter to Mai Dinh dated July 8, 1999 at page 2. Evergreen Bingo also 

contains a progressive prize for players who cover all four corners in the first four balls drawn. 

Players may choose the spinning reel graphics rather than a bingo card. The players press 

the "Daub/Spinn button to start the reels spinning when the machine lets them know that a new 

game has started. This event will correspond in time to the rapid display of the drawn balls in the 

bingo card display. The three columns of reels will stop in approximately 3.5 seconds. Every 

bingo game result corresponds to a reel graphic display. The graphics will display a certain 

combination of symbols depending on whether the player lost, won the first corner game, or won 

the first comer game and any additional bonus games. The graphic display encompasses both the 

first corner game as well as the bonus games.' In both the electronic bingo card display and the 

reel display the game is played quickly and players rely on the machine to inform them whether 

they have won and the amounts of their winnings. 

Analysis 

The definition of Class I1 bingo games under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act requires 

players to cover a "previously designated arrangement of numbers or designations . . . ." 25 

U. S.C. 5 2703(7)(A)(I)(III) (emphasis added). The NIGC's regulations require players to "cover 

a designatedpattern . . . ." 25 C.F.R. 5 502.3(a)(3) (emphasis added). A pattern is a "design 

composed of elements in a regular arrangement." Random House Webster's Dictionary 485 

(1993). Both definitions use the plural form to describe what needs to be covered in order to win 

a game. Thus, under the plain language of both IGRA and the NIGC regulations, a game is not 

bingo or a game similar to bingo unless players are required to cover more than one number or 

designation before they can win. They must also cover numbers or designations that are in a 

'For example, if the reels display three white "7"s, it means that the player was the first 

person (or among the first persons) to cover a corner and the player also won a bonus because he 

%I# or she covered three corners in the first three balls drawn. 
regular arrangement. In Evergreen Bingo, players need to cover only one number, a corner, in 

order to win. Therefore, Evergreen Bingo fails to meet this element of the Class I1 bingo 

definition. 

IGRA also requires that "the holder of the card covers such numbers or designations when 

objects, similarly numbered or designated, are drawn . . . " 25 U.S.C. $ 2703(7)(A)(I)(II) 

(emphasis added). Because it is possible to daub before the numbers are displayed, the players are 

pressing the "Daub/Spin" button in response to the EPS7 prompting rather than when they see the 

drawn numbers and realize that the numbers correspond to their electronic bingo cards. Thus, 

players do not cover, as required by IGRA, when they push the "Daub/Spin7' button nor are they 

covering when the balls are drawn and displayed. Evergreen also fails to meet this requirement 

when the EPS displays reels rather than the electronic bingo card. When players push the 

"Daub/Spin7' button to start the reels spinning, they are not covering any card. The display of a 

miniature card in the bottom left-hand comer does not negate the fact the players push the button 

to begin spinning the reel, not to cover the card. If the player's focus is on covering the card, he 

or she would be playing the game using the bingo card graphics. Finally, the players are not 

required to push the "Daub/Spinn button to cover in the bonus games. Rather, the EPS covers for 

the players. Thus, players are not covering as required by IGRA and the NIGC regulations. 

In summary, Evergreen Bingo fails to meet the statutory definition of Class I1 bingo for 

several reasons. First, the object of the game is to be the first person to cover one corner. The 

law requires that players cover more than one number or designation. Second, players cover in 

response to the EPS prompting rather than matching the drawn numbers against their electronic 

~IM bingo card because they can cover before the numbers are displayed on the EPS. Third, when 

players use the spinning reels graphics, they are not covering when they press the "Daub/Spinn 

button. Finally, the EPS covers for players when they play the bonus games regardless of whether 

they press the "DaubISpin" button. Therefore, Evergreen Bingo is not bingo as defined in 25 

U.S.C. $ 2703(7)(A)(I). 

Because Evergreen Bingo is not a Class I or a Class I1 game, it is a Class I11 game under 

IGRA. Tribes must have an approved Tribal-State compact for this game before they can 

conduct this game on Indian lands. If you have any questions concerning this letter, please 

contact Penny Coleman at 202-632-7003. 

Barry W. Brandon 

General CounseVChief of Staff