Electronic bingo casinos ruled out by Alabama Supreme Court
Courts in Lowndes and Macon counties were ordered to issue injunctions within 30 days.
The Alabama Supreme Court ruled against electronic bingo operations in Lowndes and Macon counties which overturns the lower courts that denied the state’s requests to shut down the casinos.
Now, the Alabama Supreme Court has ordered courts in Lowndes and Macon counties to issue injunctions within 30 days blocking the usage of the machines at VictoryLand in Macon County and at White Hall and Southern Star casinos in Lowndes County.
The rulings are consistent with previous rulings in the legal dispute over whether the machines, which look and play similar to slot machines, are electronic bingo or illegal gambling devices.
In both counties, voters approved constitutional amendments allowing bingo.
Arguing for electronic bingo, officials in the counties maintain the games aren’t just legal but are an important source of jobs and revenue for public services in communities with limited opportunity.
The officials also argued that these are the same machines used at the three casinos operated by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Alabama.
Previously, the Alabama Supreme Court tried to shut those down, but federal courts ruled the state had no jurisdiction over the Tribal casinos.
The Alabama Supreme Court defined bingo as the traditional game in which players listen for numbers called out at random and mark their cards. According to the court, electronic bingo machines do not meet the definition of traditional bingo.
Attorney General Steve Marshall commented: “The Alabama Supreme Court’s opinion makes clear what my office has maintained from the start: these gambling enterprises are not only patently illegal under Alabama law, but also a menace to public health, morals, safety, and welfare.
“Today’s decision will forbid the Southern Star, White Hall, and Victoryland casinos from offering their slot-machine gambling to the public.”
Marshall has also campaigned against bingo operations in Greene, Houston and Morgan counties in Alabama.
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