LOS ANGELES — The state won another dispute with Indian tribes over disputed casino games when the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians announced Friday it would cease operating about 1,600 video lottery terminals that California officials say are illegal.

"While we believe the lottery games are legal and expressly authorized under our tribal-state compact, we have decided not to offer them while we determine our next step," the tribe's chairman, Mark Macarro, said in a statement.

Tribes in California are permitted to operate up to 2,000 slot machines, but Pechanga and the Morongo Band of Mission Indians were operating video lottery terminals that are similar to slot machines but are illegal, said Vince Sollitto, a spokesman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"The state has maintained all along that these machines violate the tribes' compact by exceeding their allowed number of slots, and the state is pleased that the tribes have agreed or indicated they intend to comply," Sollitto said.

The main difference between the two types of machines lies within their software. With slot machines, gamblers play against the house, which determines the odds. Players of video lottery machines play against each other.

The 11th-hour move by Pechanga avoided a possible lawsuit by the state, which gave the two tribes until Saturday to remove the machines or stop operating them.

Morongo decided in late December to reconfigure about half of an estimated 2,000 terminals into video bingo games after opening a new $250 million, 27-story resort near Cabazon. In return, the state agreed not to sue the tribe.

Pechanga added 100,000 square feet to the casino it opened in 2002. The remodeled casino resort, which opened in November, includes hundreds of slot machines and card tables.