By Maggie Walsh
The Alabama Baptist
When he signed his name on Executive Order 24 on Oct. 3, Gov. Robert Bentley created the Alabama Advisory Council on Gaming. He also prompted some questions.
According to the executive order, the council will “assess the current state and local laws on gambling, as well as the taxes generated therefrom, and will evaluate the best practices in other states, including the tax revenue structures and the enabling and implementing regulations and laws.” It will then present its findings and recommendations to Bentley, Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh and House Speaker Mac McCutcheon by Jan. 1, 2017.
But what effect will the council have on the current illegal bingo gambling going on at VictoryLand in Macon County and at White Hall and Southern Star casinos in Lowndes County?
Must step in
Attorney General Luther Strange — who Bentley authorized to enforce gambling laws soon after Bentley came into office in 2011, but since shifted the responsibility to local law enforcement in November 2015 — said that if local law enforcement isn’t enforcing the law then Bentley must step in.
“I don’t know what the governor’s Advisory Council on Gaming will conclude, whether the Legislature will adopt its recommendations or whether the people of Alabama will approve whatever comes out of the Legislature,” Strange said. “But I do know the electronic bingo that is going on today in defiance of state law is illegal. That is absolutely clear.
“The answer to lawlessness is not a new committee. It’s action.”
Yasamie August, Bentley’s press secretary, said the governor formed the advisory council “because the ongoing issue of gaming needs to be solved once and for all in Alabama.”
But as far as the Alabama Supreme Court is concerned, electronic bingo gambling has already been solved — it was ruled “illegal” in March.
And while Strange has the authority to investigate the illegal gambling going on, “we’re beyond investigation,” said Mike Lewis, Strange’s communications director.
In a joint letter in September, Strange and Bentley reminded local law enforcement in all counties with constitutional amendments related to bingo gambling of the law. But in Macon and Lowndes counties, the laws are not being enforced (see “Illegal gambling allowed to operate in Alabama” in the Oct. 6 issue).
Strange said, “Through [the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency], the governor commands virtually the entire apparatus of statewide law enforcement. When local officials refuse to enforce the law, when they defy not only the Alabama Supreme Court but his own executive order, he must act.”
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