The slow moving current of video gambling that is seeping across Alabama has the potential of cresting into a full-blown storm of controversy. As the gambling machines invade counties across the state, legal and moral questions are being raised.
It’s called the “Chuck E. Cheese law” and it’s anything but child’s play, officials say.
This bill passed the Alabama legislature in 1996 and hardly made a ripple on the legislative pond. A year and a half ago adult video gambling machines started mushrooming across the state and reports of payoff abuse started to follow. It wasn’t until complaints started rolling in — many of them from family members of gamblers — that law officials realized that Pandora’s gambling box may have been opened in Alabama.
The vague wording of the Chuck E. Cheese law says video gambling is legal if the players are rewarded with merchandise, toys or gift certificates — not to exceed $5 in value.
This loosely stated wording allows for widespread interpretation that permits ample opportunity for abuse, officials said. In addition, enforcing the law as to payoff accountability is next to impossible.
Pastor Mike Shaw of First Baptist Church, Pelham, upon hearing of the opening of an adult video arcade in Pelham, started calling.
“I’ve been in touch with the mayor’s office and members of the city council. They didn’t know anything about it. The owners merely got a permit to operate an arcade. It’s perfectly legal,” he said.
“The District Attorney’s office said they will be monitoring the business very closely to make sure they stay within compliance of the law,” Shaw added.
Since cash payout for winnings are illegal, the owners of Treasure Island Arcade are following the popular trend of issuing five-dollar, Wal-Mart gift certificates.
Corporate Wal-Mart spokesman Tom Williams said Wal-Mart was unaware of any of their gift certificates being used as payoffs for video gambling wins.
“Once certificates are purchased, Wal-Mart is not responsible for how they are used. Of course we would want to know if they were involved in anything that was illegal. We would investigate and take action immediately,” he said from Wal-Mart’s headquarters in Arkansas.
“They really encouraged us to come back and bring our friends,” said Jeremy Henderson, a college student who visited the Pelham arcade along with three of his friends. “They never asked to see our ID and they told us they didn’t want to get the “church people” mad at them, so they were going to close on Sunday mornings. We were offered some free refreshments, but we declined.”
On Birmingham’s east side in the Center Point area, a group of concerned citizens are banning together to work on ways to curtail the influx of video gambling in their neighborhoods. The president of the newly formed Center Point Action Committee, Betty Cannon, has strong feelings about the opening of gambling arcades in her neighborhood.
“We’re not going to stand for these types of businesses to grow. We had over 200 people attend our first meeting,” she said. “We assume we had an arcade owner in attendance as one man spoke up and said he couldn’t believe we would call ourselves Christians since we were wanting to deny senior citizens entertainment and a free meal.”
“We can get as upset as we want to but these businesses have a right to open their doors because we don’t have laws to prevent this in our community,” Cannon said.
“Communities all over Alabama need to start paying attention to what is going on with these games,” she noted. “It’s so sad that they are spreading across the state like they are. They need to be stopped.”
Sen. Bill Armistead, R-Columbiana, expressed concern for the increased number of video gaming machines in Alabama. “I’ll do everything within my power to shut down these type of businesses. If I hear of any inappropriate activities that go beyond the law I will have the Attorney General investigate.”
Randy Hillman, chief assistant to Shelby Country district attorney, said he was in a small locally owned grocery store in rural Shelby County and noticed a video gambling machine had been installed.
“We’ve seized a large number of these games for being illegally used,” he said. “I think this problem is finally hitting a chord with the citizens of Alabama.”
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