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E-Bingo on the Line of Fire Once Again

Posted on February 20th, 2011

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Electronic bingo has generated a lot of serious debate in Alabama. The previous years has seen opposing camps arguing the legality of these bingo machines, prompting several bingo facilities to close down. Gambling in Alabama has not yet been legalized. As such, only tribe-owned facilities have been able to offer casino gambling as tribe-owned facilities are subject only to federal laws; the state has no jurisdiction over tribal facilities. With that, a state-promulgated ban on gambling machines should not cover the tribe-owned casino operating in the state. The ban has caused a lot of issues since it has been proven to be obscure. As such, people were able to operate establishments with electronic bingo since these games are not covered in what was defined to be video gambling.

Several raids on these establishments have been executed, and consequently, lawsuits were filed regarding the legality of the raids. To this date, the status of electronic bingo machines remains to be decided upon by the courts. However, this has not stopped Alabama’s new Republican Attorney General, Luther Strange, from his efforts to get rid of the machines. The new Governor Robert Bentley has appointed Luther Strange into this matter. Strange has since taken great strides in their quest to eliminate the operation of the bingo machines in the state.

The fact that facilities operated by Indian tribes fall under the jurisdiction of federal laws does not stop Strange from his campaign. He has recently asked the National Indian Gaming Commission , the body that oversees Indian gambling to have the tribe-owned casinos get rid of the electronic bingo machines. Strange contends that the bingo machines are more comparable to slot machines rather than bingo itself. He adds that these machines are “patently illegal under Alabama law.”, despite the fact that these casinos do not fall under Alabama law.

Further enforcing his campaign against electronic bingo machines, Strange has had manufacturers of electronic bingo remove the machines at non-Indian facilities at Atmore, Wetumpka and Montgomery that have been closed because of the ongoing debate on the legality of the machines. The Attorney General has given the manufacturers an ultimatum: have the machines taken out from the closed facilities or have these machines inspected in court. If the court finds that the these machines are indeed illegal, then these will be confiscated and ownership would be forfeited to the state government. The manufacturer, who see a hopeless battle in court, have pulled the machines out of the closed facilities, awarding Strange a battle won on his war against the electronic bingo machines. The manufacturers, however, believe that the machines are legal, however, they would prefer to sell these to states where there are currently no issues with the machines. This way, they would not face any unnecessary risks, costs, and time spent on having the machines inspected at court.

However, the manufacturers were not forced into pulling out their machines from tribe-owned casinos since there are currently no federal laws that prohibit the operation of such machines. Strange, however, takes the manufacturer’s act of pulling out the machines from the closed non-Indian facilities as an affirmation of the fact that the machines are indeed illegal. He added that the National Indian Gaming Commission should see that as proof of the questionable legal status of the machines. Traditional bingo is allowed in most counties of the state. This is the reason why electronic bingo has generated a heated debate from opposing camps for several years. One argues that since bingo is allowed, these games, which are electronic versions of the game, should also be allowed as well. The other camp contends that the machines’ name is misleading—the games has more similarities to video slot machines that to bingo itself.

Whatever the case may be, Strange is determined to eliminate the operation of these machines in the state. If he decides to push his campaign against such machines on the Indian-owned casinos, a court battle will not doubt ensue. While judicial proceedings may take a significant amount of time before a definite judgment can rendered, Strange believes that it will be worth it because then, there won’t be any room to debate on the legality of these machines. “It is my hope that this action will put an end to the electronic bingo controversy that has engulfed our state for far too long,” he added.