California tribal casino representatives warn that the state risks losing tens of millions of dollars in tribal revenue-sharing payments if authorities can't shut down charitable bingo parlors that operate casino-style machines.

A new law intended to ban electronic bingo games used by many charities went into effect Jan. 1.

But several bingo parlors in Sacramento and elsewhere have continued operating the machines under a court injunction that stopped state and county authorities from shutting down the games.

The dispute may be resolved in two federal court hearings this week that pit bingo parlors and charity groups against state regulators and a bingo machine manufacturer.

But as the matter has dragged on, tribal representatives, who aren't involved in the litigation, say their patience is wearing thin.

The United Auburn Indian Community, one of America's wealthiest casino tribes, threatened to withhold millions of dollars in revenue-sharing payments to California last year if authorities didn't close down the machines in a few dingy bingo parlors in Sacramento.

Other casino tribes say the electronic bingo games that resemble slot machines violate their exclusive rights to Nevada-style gambling in California.

"You look at the games, and you see they are slot machines under state law," said George Forman, a lawyer representing numerous California casino tribes, including the Morongo Band of Mission Indians in Riverside County and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Indians in San Diego County. "Over time, I think it's more likely than not that somebody is going to get upset."

Last year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzengger signed a new law – Senate Bill 1369 – officially banning the games. The bill came after bingo operators went to court to block state enforcement efforts already underway.

In early 2008, after threatening to withhold payment, the United Auburn tribe near Sacramento sent the state its casino revenue-sharing check with a letter of protest to Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown.

The tribe warned that it may stop sending future checks if establishments such as the Sacramento Bingo Center and Sacramento Bingo Palace – and charities such as United Cerebral Palsy – continue to operate the casino-style games. United Auburn runs the Thunder Valley Casino in Placer County.

"The letter in essence said that they were reluctant to pay their quarterly payments while something that violates the very tenet of the compact they signed with the state was in operation – illegal slot machines," said Doug Elmets, a spokesman for the tribe.

Charity groups and bingo halls argue that California's new anti-bingo machine law violates the Americans with Disabilities Act because some people with disabilities have difficulty playing the game on paper cards.

"Our principle is to continue to have a source of revenues for the charities," said Doug Bergman, president of United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Sacramento. The group uses electronic bingo games to raise money for programs that promote independence and productivity for people with developmental disabilities.

"You remove the e-bingo machines from our hall, and the paper bingo games just don't generate enough money to keep the doors open today," Bergman said.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is due to hear arguments Tuesday to uphold an injunction – granted in federal court in Sacramento – that barred authorities from shutting down the electronic games.

The state attorney general's office argues in a court brief that the new state law holds that "electronic machine-like devices are not a lawful form of bingo" under the state's charitable bingo statute.

Bergman said United Cerebral Palsy hopes to have the law proven invalid and to "find a compromise with the Indian tribes where we can continue to use the bingo machines that satisfy our needs."

A Tennessee game machine company – one of the original plaintiffs in the lawsuit challenging California's electronic bingo crackdown – dropped out of the suit. But now the firm is a defendant in a second suit trying to stop it from pulling its machines out of Sacramento establishments.

United Cerebral Palsy won a restraining order in federal court to stop the machines from being removed. A hearing on the matter is scheduled in Sacramento federal court on Wednesday .

Todd McTavish, legal counsel for Video Gaming Technologies Inc., said the firm wants to take back electronic bingo machines that were leased to the Sacramento Bingo Center, Mayhew Center Bingo and Madison Mall Bingo in Sacramento County.

"We operated our games legally in compliance with all laws, and then the California Legislature spoke on this issue of electronic bingo," McTavish said of the firm's decision to remove the games. "The point became moot when the Legislature and Gov. Schwarzenegger enacted new legislation."

Call Peter Hecht, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5539.