VictoryLand casino in Shorter, Alabama recently reopened in defiance of the Alabama Supreme Court’s March ruling that the casino’s previous electronic bingo games were illegal. Shuttered since the state seized 1,615 games and 0,000 in cash in a 2013 raid, VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor said the facility had been illegally closed. “While it has taken longer than we hoped, the time is now here and we are pleased that hundreds of our people will have a new job and VictoryLand will be generating a badly needed shot in the arm for Tuskegee and this entire region of Alabama,” McGregor said.
McGregor noted Macon County Sheriff Andre Brunson and the district attorney have assured him the new games are legal. On its first day of operations, the casino did not appear to be under any immediate legal threat with local law enforcement, which was good news for customers who had lined up hours before the doors opened.
The Alabama Supreme Court had ruled that the slot-like electronic bingo machines were not covered by state laws allowing charitable bingo games.
However, VictoryLand’s electronic games are similar to those operated by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians at the tribe’s casinos in Atmore, Montgomery and Wetumpka, but they are not under the jurisdiction of the state.
Last November, Governor Robert Bentley issued an executive order giving enforcement of state gambling laws to local officials instead of the previous governor’s gambling task force and attorney general’s office.
Responding to a question about VictoryLand’s reopening, state Attorney General Luther Strange—who authorized the 2013 raid—reiterated “electronic bingo is illegal.” He added, “The governor has expressly told the sheriff and district attorney in Macon County that they need to do their job and enforce state gambling laws. If those local officials are disregarding the governor’s order and facilitating illegal activity, then I expect the governor to take action. I stand ready to work with the governor and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency to stop illegal gambling and other crimes.”
