The battle over Alabama’s expanding bingo gambling industry wages on with no end in sight. Two bills prohibiting electronic gambling in Walker County have passed the Senate, and two similar bills for Houston County were recently introduced in both the House and Senate.
Supporters say bingo is legal whether played electronically or on paper. Opponents believe the large gambling halls popping up along many Alabama highways are nothing more than casinos skirting the letter of the law.
Sen. Charles Bishop, R-Jasper, said he looks forward to legislation — Senate Bill 400 and Senate Bill 401 — prohibiting electronic gambling in Walker County being adopted by the Legislature. “I feel very good that we’ll get a positive conclusion, and the bill will move forward and before this session is over become law.”
After no movement for several weeks, SB 400 and SB 401 recently passed the Senate and were referred to the House Local Legislation committee.
Bishop remains concerned about opposition from Rep. Ken Guin, D-Carbon Hill, who heads the House rules committee.
“I think Rep. Guin has made the statement to the local press that he was not going to support the bill, and he told me that the bill was dead, that he was going to kill the bill,” Bishop said.
“But I took him a copy of the Alabama Constitution (Section 82) and it plainly states that a member of the Legislature who has a ‘personal or private interest in any measure or bill proposed or pending before the Legislature shall disclose the fact to the house of which he is a member, and shall not vote thereon.’”
Bishop continued, “Mr. Guin (as an attorney) represents some of the groups in the bingo industry, and that’s a strong conflict of interest. If necessary, I’ll be filing a complaint and asking the Alabama Ethics Commission to make a ruling that Mr. Guin will have to abstain on this measure. Therefore, the bill will move forward on Rep. (Tommy) Sherer’s signature, which he already gave.”
If Bishop’s bills do not pass into law, Sherer, D-Jasper, plans to introduce a bill that would place an annual $500,000 excise tax on each electronic gambling hall.
“I’ve always voted against gambling of any kind,” Sherer said. “My Christian ethics won’t allow me to vote for gambling and alcohol bills. I’ve signed off on Sen. Bishop’s bill, and that’s the only way I know to get rid of them. If those bills don’t make it, I’ve got this other bill that will at least close some of them down. At this point in time, I don’t know where else we can go with this.”
As legislators battle it out at the Statehouse, many Walker County residents are facing an uphill fight against the county commission’s decision to further regulate the area’s booming electronic gambling businesses.
Amid the protests of opponents and supporters, Walker County commissioners passed a new resolution to increase the annual license fee for electronic bingo from $500 to $1,000 per machine raising a projected $2 million for the county.
The money is set to be used for road and bridge repairs, capital improvements at the Walker County Board of Education and Walker County Commission and economic promotion and developments in the county. According to the new resolution, electronic gambling hall operators must also have $1 million in liability insurance.
“I feel like we shouldn’t need resolutions because we shouldn’t have electronic bingo (gambling),” said Lee Taylor, pastor of First Baptist Church, Dora. “When you put those resolutions out there and you regulate it, you’re saying it’s here and there is nothing we are going to do about it; so, we’re going to regulate it. I feel that is what the county commission has done. That is what their actions say to me.”
Taylor and numerous church leaders from different denominations have formed several groups to combat the expansion of electronic gambling in Walker County. One of them, Walker County for Moral Leadership, hopes to educate community residents about electronic bingo gambling and the importance of getting rid of it.
“This group will also watch not only the county but even cities in our county for any moral corruption,” Taylor said.
Bishop has met with many of the pastors working together to combat electronic gambling.
“I want to personally thank those Baptist ministers that have been involved in helping us and all of the ministers of the different denominations that have come together in Walker County,” Bishop said.
“They have come together and agreed on the issues facing our county. Any biblical differences they might have, they have left them in the churches and come out in the public to eliminate the illegal slot machines we have. Without their help, it would be awfully hard to get this done.”
Houston County church leaders are also in the forefront in the electronic gambling fight in their area.
When Houston County commissioners surprisingly introduced and later passed new regulations expanding electronic gambling to accommodate the proposed Country Crossing entertainment development, some business and religious leaders openly expressed concern and disapproval of a 1,500-machine bingo hall included in the plans.
But despite continued objections from community leaders and residents over the past few weeks, commissioners have not shown any plans to rescind their votes. Instead, they are currently discussing projected infrastructure needs caused by the development.
According to the Dothan Eagle, developer Ronnie Gilley is also moving forward with his plans. Having recently purchased “776 acres of land just off Highway 231 near West Smithville Road and State Highway 109,” he “hopes to break ground on the project in 90 days.”
“We feel like they usurped the intent of the original law (a constitutional amendment allowing limited charity bingo gambling),” said Jerry Grandstaff, director of missions for Columbia Baptist Association, which serves Houston County. “We are discouraged by the momentum they have in believing they are going to accomplish this, but we are encouraged by the support we have from business leaders, some concerned citizens and religious community. We are going to stay the course until such time we realize it would be no need for us to continue any further.”
On March 30, Columbia Baptist churches held a day of prayer for the county, its leaders and the issue of legalized gambling. The next day, Dan Ireland, executive director of Alabama Citizens Action Program, spoke on these issues to more than 50 pastors and ministers during the association’s weekly ministers’ conference.
“The churches have to get involved, or it won’t be done,” he said.
The next step, Grandstaff said, is developing a document stating their biblical and social opposition to legalized gambling.
“We want to publicly have that in print or made known and have religious leaders, business people and concerned citizens sign it,” he explained. “We welcome Country Crossing and the entertainment aspect of this, but we do not welcome any form of legalized gambling. I find it interesting that when they were considering putting this in Coffee County, bingo (gambling) was not a part of the plan. It leads me to believe they could have done it without bingo (gambling).”
Sen. Harri Anne Smith, R-Slocomb, and Rep. Benjamin Lewis, R-Dothan, have also joined the fight introducing identical bills — Senate Bill 572 and House Bill 819 — in the Alabama Legislature to limit bingo gambling in the county to paper games.
“My personal stance is this is not bingo – this is gambling, and I am opposed to any form of gambling,” said Smith, a member of First Baptist Church, Slocomb.
“When the citizens of any community face a political and moral issue as significant and important as whether or not to allow a casino into their county, the people not the elected officials should have the right to make the decision,” she said. “The people should have had a voice in this, and that’s what we are trying to … give them.”
Lewis said the decision to “bring a casino into your community” is not one that should be made by elected officials.
“I didn’t like the way it was handled,” he added. “I’m for a family entertainment destination. I think that’s good for our community. … They are saying it’s (like) Branson (Mo.), but when you add a casino, it turns it into a Biloxi. Adding a casino changes the whole nature of the development.”
Unfortunately, some Houston County legislators may not back the bill, which could prevent it from being passed. According to the Dothan Eagle, Rep. Locy Baker, D-Abbeville, and Rep. Steve Clouse, R-Ozark, said they would not vote against the county commission.
Share with others: