About 45 people lined up on the third floor of Greenetrack to play electronic bingo when the facility reopened March 18, according to The Birmingham News.
Greenetrack announced March 17 it was reopening with tabletop computer monitors for playing bingo. The new machines are reportedly not like the slot machine-style games that were in the facility when it was shut down in July 2010 by the Governor’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling.
The task force was created by Gov. Bob Riley to rid the state of illegal gambling operations. Since Gov. Robert Bentley took office in January, he has disbanded the task force and given that assignment to Attorney General Luther Strange.
Strange’s office issued a statement explaining that officials from the attorney general’s office had met with attorneys from Greenetrack earlier.
“They are aware of the state’s legal position against slot machines and the Supreme Court of Alabama’s definition of the game of bingo,” the statement said. “This issue will be held like any other law enforcement matter.”
Greenetrack President and CEO Luther “Nat” Winn said in a press statement that about 100 machines were initially installed but space was being prepared for more. He said the new machines meet the legal requirements for bingo in Alabama, but he did not describe how they differ from the previous machines, according to the News.
Greenetrack is one of four legal dog tracks in Alabama. It became one of a handful of sites fighting for slot machine-style gambling rights, claiming it was a new electronic form of the already legal paper bingo.
Attempts to legalize this type of gambling have failed. (TAB)
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