WASHINGTON ? The chairman of the federal Indian gaming regulatory agency has resigned his post effective Sept. 5, a move that could ultimately tie the regulator’s hands.

Montie R. Deer, Muscogee Creek, left the National Indian Gaming Commission to take a post at the University of Tulsa Law School. Deer’s term expired in March; he was serving in a “hold-over” capacity until a successor could be appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. No such replacement appointment has been made.

Deer’s departure leaves the regulator rather short staffed at the top. Former Associate Commissioner Elizabeth L. Homer’s term expired in July and she did not hold over. Although current Associate Commissioner Teresa E. Poust’s term expired in June, she remains in her post and after Sept. 5 will be NIGC’s only active commissioner.

“Unless we have a quorum, we cannot take any action,” said Richard Schiff, NIGC’s acting chief-of-staff, told Indian Country Today. In regard to succession, Schiff cited the precedent of former Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Ada Deer’s assumption of the Chairman’s role for five months in1997; as a presidential appointee, she was assigned by the President to serve as NIGC chairman between the chairmanships of Harold Monteau and Tadd Johnson.

Schiff also noted that Homer’s and Poust’s positions are appointed by the Secretary of the Interior, Gale Norton. These appointments do not require Senate confirmation, but take effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, seemingly making their posts easier to fill.

Deer, a recess appointment by former President Clinton, took office in March 1999 for a three-year term. Prior to his joining the commission, Deer had served as a state judge and an assistant U.S. attorney for the State of Kansas, prior to which he was a district court judge in that state.

Deer’s last few months in office had been marked in a controversy with Austin, Texas-based Multimedia Games Inc., a manufacturer of video gaming devices, a.k.a. slot machines. In April, NIGC ruled that the company’s popular MegaNanza electronic bingo game qualified as a Class III game under provisions of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. This action immediately rendered the game illegal in Oklahoma, which prohibits Class III gaming, and where several tribes had installed it in their Class II bingo halls. Mulitmedia filed a lawsuit against NIGC, which was later joined by three of the state’s gaming tribes, the Cherokee, Choctaw and Chickasaw nations.

“I’ve always had a lot of respect for him [Deer],” said Gordon Graves, chairman and CEO of Multimedia. “For a guy to take that job, it’s really a hard job.”

Graves told Indian Country Today that Deer’s resignation would not have much impact on the company’s suit against NIGC, as the regulator has already decided how to handle the situation. Multimedia intends to proceed with the litigation, he said.

Multimedia’s ReelTime bingo game, which qualifies as a Class II device, was rapidly rolled out in June to replace MegaNanza, after NIGC published rules intended to clarify the blurry line between the Classes II and III. Graves said that the company has almost completed the roll-out and that players are accepting the new game.