SEP -4 I996 

Hai Bang Trinh 

General Manager 

Pioneer Gaming 

Gambling Research and Development 

7105 Brentwood Lane 

Westminster, California 92683 

Dear Mr. Trinh: 

This is in response to your letter of July 9, 1996, requesting 

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

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

Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), 25 U.S.C. S 2701 &. -. 

(1988). 

Pursuant to the IGRA, class 11 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 

card games. 

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

determining whether Action Jack meets the non-banking requirement 

for class XI status. 

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

According to the materials submitted, the gaming operation 

generates revenue by charging the players an hourly rate, by 

collecting an ante per hand, or by collecting a percentage of 

each pot. Play begins with each player placing a bet. The bet 

can be any amount but cannot be lower than the house minimum nor 

greater than the house maximum. The roll of dice determines 

which player is dealt the first cards. Each player is initially 

dealt two cards. The objective is to get "Action JackM, an ace 

and a card valued at ten, or to have the highest point total not 

exceeding twenty-one (2 1) . '11 krY' 

1441 L STREET. N.W. 9TH FLOOR WASHINGTON. D.C. 20005 TEL.: 202-632-7003 FAX: 202-632-7066 
The winning player collects from each losing player the amount of 

the losing player's wager not to exceed the winning player's 

wager. For example, if the player with the best hand bets $10 

d' and the other players bet varying amounts greater than $10, then 

the winning player would collect $10 from each losing player and 

the losing players would be refunded their initial bet less $10. 

If the player with the best hand had bet the maximum amount 

allowed, that player would collect from each losing player the 

entire amount wagered by each losing player. If two or more 

players have an n~ction JackH or the highest point total, the 

winners share the pot. The division of the pot is based on 

- 

each of the winning playersf wager. If one winning player bets 

$10 and the other bets $20, $10 would be collected from each 

losing player and that amount would be split by the two players. 

Because the winning player with the $20 bet still has $10 in 

action with the other losing players, he or she would collect an 

additional sum not to exceed $10 from each losing player. 

The betting format and how a player wins differentiates Action 

Jack from traditional blackjack. In Action Jack there is no bank 

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

paying all winners. Instead, players play against each other. 

In blackjack, "[elach player bets only with the dealern or the 

house which is the banker. Richard L. Frey, According to Hoyle 

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

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

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

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

TJ different. In blackjack, a player's potential winnings is based 

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

winnings is based on the amount the player wages as well as the 

number of players in the game, the amount those players have 

wagered, and whether there is another winner. Also, the 

strategies that a player uses change when he or she is playing 

against other players and not against a bank. These variations 

in the game are sufficient to conclude that Action Jack is not 

traditional blackjack by another name. 

The IGRA excludes from class I1 gaming "any banking card games, 

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

U.S.C. S 2703(7)(B)(i). Although blackjack is specifically 

exclude from class I1 gaming, the wording of this provision 

seemingly prohibits only banking games. 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 I11 games under section 4(9) and 

regulated pursuant to section ll(d). The 

distinction is between those games 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 in Action Jack play against each other rather 

than against the house and the house has no stake in the outcome 

of the game, Action Jack is not a banking game. We therefore 

conclude that Action Jack meets the non-banking requirement for 

class I1 status. 

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

Jack 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 

wagers or pot sizes. 

If you have any questions, please call this office at 202-632- 

7003. 

Sincerely, 

Michael D. Cox 

/ 

General Counsel