Over a dozen bingo halls in Jefferson County have been shut down after a multi-community effort April 11.
Speaking at an April 12 news conference at the Bessemer Superhighway Bingo, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said citizens, legislators and county officials had requested his office’s help in closing down the facilities. He said his office obtained temporary restraining orders against 14 illegal gambling facilities in Jefferson County involving more than 2,400 illegal slot machines and multiple nonprofit and for-profit entities.
He asserted there is no “loophole” in Alabama law for electronic bingo machines.
“Laws are laws. Gambling is illegal in Alabama. … Allowing illegal gambling and activity to operate freely in broad daylight is offensive to the rule of law, and we simply aren’t going to tolerate it.
“The good people of these communities deserve better than illicit casinos in their neighborhoods.”
Marshall said his office continues to examine the evidence, and emphasized that “rampant gambling” cannot be ignored. Marshall said the Bessemer facility would be closed until an expected hearing on April 21. He said no arrests have been made as of April 12.
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