The Alabama Supreme Court ruled against “electronic bingo” operations in Lowndes and Macon counties, overturning lower courts that had denied the state’s requests to shut down the casinos.
The justices, in 9-0 rulings, ordered the courts in Lowndes and Macon counties to issue injunctions within 30 days blocking the use of the machines at VictoryLand in Macon County and at White Hall and Southern Star casinos in Lowndes County.
The Alabama Supreme Court has defined bingo as the traditional game in which players listen for numbers called out at random and mark their cards. The “electronic bingo” machines do not meet that definition of traditional bingo, the court reiterated in today’s rulings.
Attorneys for the casinos didn’t try to prove the supposed legality of their gaming operations, but instead insisted that the state couldn’t meet the legal burden of proving that the facilities were causing irreparable harm by offering electronic bingo.
The rulings by the all-Republican court were consistent with previous rulings in the long-running legal dispute over whether the machines, which look and play similar to slot machines, are “electronic bingo” or illegal gambling devices.
Voters in both counties approved constitutional amendments allowing bingo. Officials in the counties maintain that the games are not only legal but are an important source of jobs and revenue for public services in communities with limited opportunity. Officials also note they are the same machines used at the three casinos operated by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Alabama. Alabama tried to shut those down, too, but federal courts ruled the state had no jurisdiction over the Indian casinos.
