Saturday, April 18, 1998; 10:37 a.m. EDT

ST. REGIS MOHAWK RESERVATION, N.Y. (AP) -- If the St. Regis Mohawk tribe has its way, a visit to a casino may soon be as easy as a couple clicks on a computer mouse.

The Mohawks have hired an Ohio-based company to help the tribe set up an Internet ``casino,'' despite the state's claim that the Indian nation's gaming compact does not permit them to offer online gambling.

New York Attorney General Dennis Vacco maintains the Internet gambling site would be against the law.

``It is illegal to book bets over the Internet from people in New York state, regardless of whether the site is situated in a foreign country or otherwise,'' Vacco spokesman Joe Mahoney said Friday.

``Whether by telephone or by computer modem, as long as bets are being placed from within New York state, then it would be unlawful to take those bets,'' he said. ``We would frown on any attempt to present this as lawful when it is not.''

State Racing and Wagering Board Chairman Michael Hoblock also said the tribe can't open its site ``until we get over the threshold of whether Internet gambling is legal and whether the compact permits it. And it's totally clear that the compact does not permit it.''

Legislators at both the state and federal level have introduced bills to make Internet gambling illegal.

Meanwhile, Don Harris, chief executive officer of Native American Interactive Gaming, contends the tribe's gaming compact with the state does permit it to offer computer gambling. The Mohawks' compact permits so-called ``Class Two'' games, including bingo, pull-tab, scratch-off and other lottery-type games.

Harris said state law allows the transmission of gaming information, as with buying Lotto tickets at convenience stores or placing bets at Off-Track Betting parlors. As a result, the Mohawks can use electronic transmission to run their games as well, he said.

Tribal attorney Michael Rhodes-Devey did not return telephone messages left Friday seeking comment. Chief Barbara Lazore declined to comment about the project.

Harris said there are already dozens of Internet gaming sites up and running or in the works. The Couer D'Alene Indian tribe of Idaho made $45 million off its Internet bingo operation last year, he said.

The St. Regis Mohawks are paying Harris' company $300,000 to set up an Internet gambling site, he said. The operation would require about 11 people, two per shift around the clock, he said.

Players would be able to go to the Internet, supply their credit cards to receive a certain amount of credit, go to the tribal site and use their credits to play, Harris said.

The tribe would supply winners in cash by wire or overnight delivery, he said. The tribe also is working on issuing a debit card that would allow winners to get cash winnings from their bank.