Gambling charges thrown out

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Gambling charges have been dismissed in Saskatchewan's Bear Claw Casino case.

Judge Wallace Goliath threw out the case when the Crown failed to show that the defendants, the White Bear Indian Band and a U.S. gaming consultant, set out to break the law.

White Bear Chief Bernard Sheppard said the band is considering whether or not to re-open the Bear Claw casino or negotiate gaming regulations with the province. If they do re-open, Saskatchewan's Gaming Minister Eldon Lautermilch promised he would again lay charges.

The casino was shut down following a pre-dawn raid March 22, 1993. RCMP officers were heavily armed and wearing masks when they crashed through the casino's front doors. Dressed in full camouflage,. the RCMP were accompanied by a SWAT team and police dogs. Casino employees at first thought they were being robbed.

Defendants fought the charges of keeping a common gaming house and illegally importing and keeping gaming machines on the grounds provincial laws don't apply on First Nations land.

"Their actions and their belief that the Criminal Code gaming provisions did not apply to their on-reserve gaming activities may be considered as reasonable," said the judge in dismissing the case.