No matter what side of the adult video arcade issue Alabamians may stand on, they all seem to agree on one thing — confusion is still the name of the video gambling game in Alabama.
This is in spite of the fact that judges have made rulings, the State Supreme Court and attorney general have both issued opinions, and lawsuits and injunctions have been filed in almost every county protesting the on-again-off-again legitimacy of adult arcade businesses.
Because of the ambiguousness of the interpretation of the “Chuck E. Cheese law” throughout the state, many law enforcement representatives feel that their effectiveness in enforcing the law is being hindered. And at the same time, owners of the gambling devices and arcade establishments perceive unfair treatment from one county to the next. For example, adult video arcades that are allowed to operate in one county would be confiscated and the owner would be charged with a misdemeanor if they operated in an adjoining county where the district attorney has mandated them illegal.
The confusion stems from the interpretation of the 1996 Chuck E. Cheese law that, along with children’s video games, allows for the playing of adult video gaming devices, if skill is required for a successful play of the game.
Opponents, who perceive the devices to be video gambling machines, say that a win is dictated strictly by chance, not skill, and thus constitutes gambling, which is illegal in Alabama.
This law specified that payout of winnings could not exceed $5 in value. Owners quickly circumvented this restriction by issuing gift certificates from various national and regional store chains, which players could accumulate throughout their playing time.
The bedlam and discord generated by the interpretation of this law opened the door for video gambling arcades to spring up throughout the state, with an estimated 70,000 machines being in operation at one point in 2001.
Up until an unexpected opinion was issued by the State Supreme Court in March 2001, there seemed little was or could be done by law enforcement agencies. The only exception was the aggressive pursuit of blatant violators who were paying out in cash in Montgomery, Mobile, Baldwin and Jefferson counties. These counties’ district attorneys ordered seizures of the machines and arrest warrants for the machine operators. Once these court cases were tried, they were appealed to the appellate courts.
To add more fuel to the interpretation fire, some of the judges ruled in favor of the arcade owner while other judges ruled in favor of the county, stating that the devices did not involve skill and were therefore illegal under Alabama’s constitution.
These varied court rulings supplied machine owners and operators with needed ammunition to justify their position by claiming that the video gaming devices were legal to operate in Alabama.
Although the majority of Alabama’s county district attorneys have mandated that video gambling arcades must shut down, some have chosen to wait until an official ruling from the State Supreme Court and a legislative repeal of the law is made.
For example, Nathan Watkins Sr., district attorney for Greene, Sumter and Marengo counties, said that he initially wrote a letter ordering the arcade owners in his jurisdiction to stop operating their gambling devices but then said he changed his mind. He had ordered them shut down once before and then allowed them to reopen after confusion arose following Attorney General Bill Pryor’s civil court testimony in August 2001. (Pryor stated that video gambling machines were legal under the current Chuck E. Cheese state law.)
GreeneTrack greyhound dog racing is located in Greene County, where Watkins says around 25-30 video gambling machines are housed. He said a lawsuit was filled y the Birmingham owners but was dropped once the machines were allowed to operate. “I’ve just decided to wait for a definitive ruling from the Supreme Court,” he stated.
Sheriff David Warren of Macon County, where Victoryland dog track is located, said, “the law needs to be specific. As law enforcement, we’re caught in the middle. The people here have voted for pari-mutuel gambling in Macon County and they don’t have a problem with it.” Warren said there are 300 video gambling machines at the dog track, which is owned by gambling advocate Milton McGregor. “The people here sure don’t want anyone messing with their dog track,” he said, adding that the machines are still legal in the county.
Montgomery County District Attorney Ellen Brooks said the biggest problem her department faces is the “serious lack of clarity regarding the law.”
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