Published: Monday, February 21, 2011, 11:47 AM Updated: Monday, February 21, 2011, 11:52 AM
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. _ Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange called the bluff of Alabama's casino operators last week by inviting them to have their electronic bingo machines tested for their legality.
Under Strange's offer, a judge would rule whether the machines
Gaming manufacturers didn't want to take that chance so they agreed to Strange's offer to voluntarily remove them. Thousands of machines will soon be uprooted from closed casino halls across Alabama to avoid a mass confiscation.
What a refreshing approach.
No midnight raids by governor's task forces on illegal gambling. No protracted court battles over injunctions and restraining orders.
Former Attorney General Troy King's permissive view of bingo laws, despite court rulings to the contrary, led then-Gov. Bob Riley to form a task force on illegal gambling to enforce the law.
Task force raids came dangerously close to inciting violence as hundreds of casino workers were forced out of work.
New Gov. Robert Bentley vowed to disband Riley's task force and cede gambling enforcement to Strange. The new attorney general forged an agreement with International Gaming Technology, Bally Technologies and Multimedia Games for them to begin removing their games this week from electronic bingo casinos at VictoryLand near Tuskegee, Country Crossing in Dothan and White Hall Entertainment Center in Lowndes County.
The agreement calls for them to complete the removal within 60 days. It does not apply to the three Indian casinos operated by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Atmore, Wetumpka and Montgomery. Indian gaming halls operate under the federal Indian Gaming Act outside of state jurisdiction.
What must happen now is an expedited court ruling on the legality of the machines. The Supreme Court has given some guidance but the law must be fully vetted within state constitutional limits.
Millions of dollars were invested in gaming halls. Hundreds of jobs hang in the balance. Proprietors took a big gamble when they spent that much capital on an enterprise that operated on the outer margins of the law.
Now they find themselves shut down.
A legislative remedy seems unlikely in the wake of indictments in a federal gambling probe.
"We let them know very clearly what our position was. Our opinion about these machines is that they are illegal slot machines, and they don't meet the definition of bingo under Alabama law," Strange said last week.
That's Strange's position. It's time now for a court ruling to settle this controversy once and for all.
By John Peck for the editorial board. E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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