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Etowah County
Etowah County officials are trying to exhaust “all legal remedies” to make sure the electronic bingo gambling machines proposed for the county are legal before bringing them in, according to District Attorney Jimmie Harp.
“The County Commission, sheriff and all involved have done the right thing in asking for permission from the courts and not forgiveness,” Harp said. “When Gov. Riley organized the task force (on illegal gambling), Etowah County was the first county David Barber (task force leader) came to because we invited him. … We wanted everything to be done absolutely transparent and absolutely legal.”
But like similar cases statewide, the process is slow-going. Developer CBS Supply LLC has not supplied the court with any machines for experts to examine, Harp said.
“Until they do, we are stuck behind the eight ball,” he added. “I think most developers are leery about bringing machines into Alabama for legal scrutiny because they have machines in other states.
“They don’t want their machines to be called gambling devices because it may make other states not want to use their gambling devices. If it is ruled in Alabama to be a gambling device, it would affect their gaming license and their ability to do business in other states, and Etowah County may not be worth that to them.”
A hearing for the case is still set for Sept. 15 in Circuit Judge Allen Millican’s court.
Walker County
After finding evidence that at least one Walker County electronic bingo gambling operation is working illegally, Judge Robert Vance ordered bingo halls in the area to submit information revealing their method of operation by Aug. 17. According to the Daily Mountain Eagle, Vance said, “Failure to file the verified statement in a timely manner will lead to the entry of a cease and desist order stopping all bingo games by that operator until the information is given.”
The newspaper reported that the information requested includes the full legal name of owners and operators, legal nature of the operator entity, physical address of each location where the operator conducts or manages bingo games in Walker County, name and address of property title owners, lessors and lessees of the property and name and address of the individual or entity leasing the machines.
“What we are seeing is that there are two tracks this case is going down,” said Bill Adair, attorney for Walker County Sheriff John Mark Tirey, in the Daily Mountain Eagle. “We have the judge deciding if the electronic version being played is bingo or if the machines are slot machines, and we have another track showing how the businesses are organized. I think we will get answers on both those tracks.”
St. Clair County
St. Clair County Sheriff Terry Surles is keeping his pledge to shut down illegal gambling operations in the county.
After two weeks of undercover investigation, his department recently raided an illegal gambling operation in the back of a Logan Martin Dam Road store located just outside Pell City. Surles said his team seized five “Cherry Masters” slot machines and an unknown amount of money in the raid.
Although the Alabama Supreme Court agreed to determine the legality of electronic bingo gambling in St. Clair County, Surles said he is not delaying enforcement of the county’s current bingo law until the court’s decision is made.
“We are not taking any permits for (electronic) bingo,” he said. “Until the Supreme Court rules on it, we think it’s illegal.”
Surles said Argo Mayor Paul Jennings spoke with him about allowing electronic bingo gambling in the Jefferson County portion of the town, but the proposed buildings are partially in St. Clair County.
St. Clair County District Attorney Richard Minor said if electronic bingo gambling operations are allowed in those buildings, then “that might be something that will need to be addressed.”
He is currently preparing documents (briefs) needed for the Supreme Court case. “I’m thinking that the Supreme Court will have all the briefs by the first week of October,” Minor said.
EDITOR’S NOTE — As a way to consistently monitor electronic bingo gambling issues across the state, The Alabama Baptist will provide updates such as these each week.
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