October 22, 2009

Illegal Slot Machines or Legal “Bingo”? Question Now Before Alabama’s Supreme Court

MONTGOMERY - The question of whether organized gambling interests can come into communities and run slot machine casinos under the guise of “electronic bingo” is now in the hands of the Alabama Supreme Court.

Governor Bob Riley and St. Clair County District Attorney Richard Minor have jointly filed the final brief in their challenge to an Ashville city ordinance that allows so-called “electronic bingo” machines within the city limits.

“Slot machines are illegal in every county of this state - period. But because Alabama’s law against slot machines is not being uniformly enforced, they are popping up in communities throughout the state. Now, finally, all the legal maneuvering is over and the Supreme Court has the opportunity to issue a final decision both in this case and the related White Hall litigation,” said Governor Riley.

The city of Ashville and the gambling machine supplier who drafted Ashville’s ordinance contend the machines are legal under a local constitutional amendment that permits charity bingo games in the county. If they win, the decision could embolden organized gambling interests who are pushing similar measures to bring slot machine gambling into other communities all over the state.

If the Governor and District Attorney win, however, the Supreme Court could issue a ruling that effectively shuts down slot machine casinos operating throughout the State.

In their brief, Governor Riley and Minor ask the Supreme Court to agree with an Alabama federal judge who ruled last month in a Madison County case that “the electronic bingo games at issue in this case constitute illegal slot machines under Alabama law.”

As the brief points out, "This case squarely presents the question of whether Alabama’s charity bingo amendments create a loophole in Alabama’s gambling prohibitions through which slot machines may freely pass. It likewise squarely presents the question of whether fully automated computer simulations are all that is required to qualify as bingo for purposes of those amendments. Particularly given the massive influx of casino gambling that has besieged this State and continues to do so while this litigation remains pending, this Court should resolve these important questions now."

The machines proposed for Ashville “accept cash or credit and then dispense prizes based not only upon elements of chance, but purely on the basis of chance. These are the quintessential hallmarks of a slot machine under Alabama law,” their brief states. The Governor and District Attorney go on to say the machines are illegal for two reasons: “First, whether or not the game is bingo, the machines are still slot machines, and slot machines are illegal under the Alabama Code no matter what game is being played on them. Second and in any event, the game being played on these machines is decidedly not bingo, and thus the game violates Section 65 of the Alabama Constitution.”

Last summer, hundreds of so-called “electronic bingo” machines poured into Ashville within hours of the city and the gambling machine supplier obtaining a circuit court order approving the machines under the new ordinance. But the supplier removed the machines just as quickly when the Supreme Court issued a stay of the lower court’s order while the decision was appealed.