Opinion: Rolling the dice on Alabama bingo

Monday, October 12, 2009  

"The recent federal court ruling in Madison County is instructive in understanding the complexity of the gambling laws in Alabama, and particularly how state laws would apply to Indian gaming operations within Alabama.

It's important to note that — contrary to reporting by some newspapers — U.S. District Judge Lynwood Smith, in ruling that the gambling operation in Madison County was illegal, went to specific lengths to state that the court was not ruling on the legality of electronic bingo, but only the manner in which the bingo was operating.

This is particularly important because the governor's gambling task force has repeatedly asserted that if a federal or state court ruled that electronic bingo was illegal, then all bingo operations — both private and those operated by Indian tribes in Alabama — would be deemed illegal.

The truth is, until the people of this state are allowed to vote on legalizing or banning electronic bingo, this issue isn't going to be resolved.

Furthermore, ignoring this growing problem and refusing to allow the people of Alabama to determine this issue will only perpetuate the problem, with endless litigation that benefits only the gamblers and the lawyers engaged in this debate."

Get the Story:
Randy Brinson: Rolling the dice on bingo in Alabama (The Mobile Press-Register 10/11)