The esteemed VictoryLand Casino located in Shorter, Alabama, has been prohibited by a court order from providing its customers with electronic bingo machines. This noteworthy ruling was handed down by a Macon County court, establishing that these gaming devices contravene local legal statutes.
Upon the culmination of the court proceeding on Monday, Judge Steven Perryman of the Macon County Circuit Court issued his determination. Consequently, VictoryLand Casino has been barred from offering electronic bingo games at its facility. The court order also bans the casino from deriving profits from these machines. In a final ruling, Judge Perryman prohibited VictoryLand Casino from relocating the bingo terminals to other establishments within Macon Country.
Notably, the court’s resolution comes merely nine months subsequent to the Alabama Supreme Court declaring the electronic bingo machines illegal. Judge Perryman elucidated that the injunction would not be voided unless the state of Alabama opted to authorize the operation of electronic bingo games.
The Verdict Is Lauded by Steve Marshall
The present lawsuit emanated from Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall‘s objections to the ongoing provision of electronic bingo machines by the casino, despite their ban in the state. Marshall, who is robustly against illegal gambling, exerted significant effort to ensure the illicit devices were eradicated.
In a recent public statement, Marshall robustly criticized electronic bingo machines, terming their continued existence as a “gross contravention of state law”. He underscored that the Alabama Supreme Court has consistently upheld this position.
Just as the facilities in Morgan, Houston and Lowndes Counties, the Macon County establishments, too, are permanently forbidden from using electronic bingo machines from here on.
Steve Marshall, Alabama Attorney General
End of the E-Bingo Dispute May Be in Sight
There’s a growing debate on whether electronic bingo machines bear too much resemblance to slot machines. Consequently, the machines have been legally outlawed in Alabama along with many other gambling products.
The state of Alabama has so far put its seal of approval on pari-mutuel betting on horse racing and dog racing in four counties, namely Greene, Jefferson, Macon and Mobile. Conventional bingo was given legal status in Macon in 2003 in response to an alteration in the Alabama Constitution that was agreed upon by voters.
Nevertheless, the state remains firm on its stance against electronic forms of bingo, which they see as being analogous to slot gaming. It is notable that the highest court in the state last year categorically stated that electronic bingo machines unquestionably qualify as illegal gambling.
Early this year, Dr Lewis Benefield, the president of VictoryLand Casino, declared substantial layoffs, resulting in hundreds of employees being dismissed. Around this period, the casino shifted its focus to horse racing machines in the hope that this change would replace the appeal of electronic bingo machines.
The recent prohibition on VictoryLand offering electronic bingo marks the end of an extended legal battle that has prevailed for numerous years.
