Since the Alabama Supreme Court issued new rules for legal bingo, several of the state’s largest electronic bingo gambling operations have tried to alter their machines to meet the court’s requirements. Some, including VictoryLand in Shorter and Country Crossing in Dothan, have said independent experts have certified the machines to meet the court’s six-part bingo definition.
But state and local leaders like Joe Godfrey, executive director of Alabama Citizen’s Action Program, believe the certifications reportedly performed by companies in gambling-friendly states like New Jersey are like “the fox guarding the hen house.”
“The Supreme Court did not certify the machines. The law enforcement did not certify the machines. They (“expert” companies) are paid to certify them the way [the gambling enterprise] wants them certified,” Godfrey said.
Recently VictoryLand representatives asked Macon County District Attorney Paul Jones to visit their facility to see if their machines meet the Supreme Court’s criteria. Jones said he plans to go to the 6,000-machine facility in late January even though he said he is still unsure whether the Court’s ruling applies to bingo in Macon County.
“I don’t think any of this is necessarily so complex that it would require an expert,” Jones said. “It is my understanding that they will make the experts available if I have any questions.”
Still many state and local officials believe the machines are slot machines with a few less bells and whistles.
Jefferson County District Attorney Brandon Falls said an argument can be made that bingo could be played on an “electronic marking machine,” but that machine would be “doing a very small task.”
“It [would be] a tool to play a game not a machine that’s playing the game for you,” Falls said. “That machine is a very different thing than a slot machine … (which) is based on chance. It’s also not something that would eject something of value.” (TAB)
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