On September 30, the Alabama Supreme Court unanimously ruled the electronic bingo machines offered at White Hall, Southern Star and VictoryLand Casino in Lowndes County are illegal. The justices told a lower court to issue injunctions against the three casinos within 30 days, prohibiting them from operating electronic bingo machines.
Since then, however, that deadline has passed and nothing has changed at the three casinos. Observers said that’s because the ruling could change, since the casinos’ attorneys on October 14 requested a rehearing from the court, which hasn’t yet responded.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has called the electronic bingo games “a menace to public health, morals, safety and welfare.” But Lowndes County Commission Chairman Charlie King said if the three casinos closed, “It would be a devastating blow. You’re talking about 100 jobs, you know. In a county like Lowndes, losing 100 jobs, that’s a pretty big blow.”
Marshall noted Lowndes County, where the median income is $20,000 lower than the Alabama average, has relatively little industry and tourist attractions, whereas the casinos provided employment, donate to local charities and attract gamblers from throughout the region. Jerry Allred, a floor manager at Southern Star, estimated last year the casino contributed about $10,000 to county schools and local charities. He added that the venue also donated to local law enforcement.
Officials point out that in 2000, Lowndes County voters approved a constitutional amendment to allow charity bingo games in White Hall. Lowndes County Commissioner Robert Harris, whose district includes White Hall and Southern Star Entertainment, said the state “is taking their votes away. If it was voted upon by a majority, and it was, and it became lawful, then what became the problem?” Harris said he believes Lowndes County is being singled out; other casinos offer electronic bingo, and Lowndes would not be able to fight back like wealthier counties, he said.
In response, Alabama Attorney General’s Office spokesman Mike Lewis sent the media a list of all the litigation that has been brought against electronic bingo operators in the state. However, none of the venues have been shut down—the possible outcome facing White Hall, Southern Star and VictoryLand.
For years, the Alabama Supreme Court has consistently ruled electronic bingo does not meet the state’s definition of bingo. In 2016, the court wrote, “It is the latest, and hopefully the last, chapter in the ongoing saga of attempts to defy the clear and repeated holdings of this Court beginning in 2009 that electronic machines like those at issue here are not the ‘bingo’ referenced in local bingo amendment.”
