A video gambling bust in Fairfield Oct. 20 should keep Alabama Baptists aware that various businesses across the state continue pushing the limits of the law, said Dan Ireland, executive director of Alabama Citizens Action Program (ALCAP).
Eight gambling machines were seized from a gas station back room in Fairfield after the machines were spotted through an open door in the room. The raid came after a two-week investigation.
The games were deemed games of chance with cash payouts, which is illegal under state law. The law was solidified earlier this year when the Alabama Supreme Court upheld a ruling by a lower court in Mobile that said arcade-type games of chance with cash payouts are illegal in Alabama.
Illegal in Alabama
The machines are illegal whether out in the public view or enclosed in a private room of an establishment that is engaged in otherwise legitimate business, Ireland noted.
“They’re illegal in the state, period,” he said. “I’m hoping this is just the beginning of the shutdown of a lot of these places.
“Little by little a lot of places are trying to get into the gambling business,” Ireland said. It takes local leaders and the citizenry being aware — keeping their eyes and ears open to find these places and taking action to shut them down with the law, he explained.
Back to Legislature
Video gambling devices such as video poker with cash payouts is expected to be a topic of the upcoming legislative session, Ireland said. While the legalization of video poker at the state’s four dog tracks has been defeated in years past, the tracks continue to seek ways to compete with the bingo parlors set up on the Indian reservations in the state, he explained. Video gambling machines are used in those parlors and attract large numbers of customers.
For past articles written on video gambling in Alabama, visit www.thealabamabaptist.org. (TAB)
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