Figuratively waving the Alabama Supreme Court decision against elctronic Bingo Machines, The Riley Administration has warned gaming commisions in other states not to allow the shipment of the machines to Alabama. Here the content of the news release form the Govenror's office:
Governor Riley to Gambling Commissions: Make Sure Slot Machine Manufacturers Cease All Illegal Activity in Alabama
MONTGOMERY - With an Alabama Supreme Court ruling defining bingo in hand, Governor Bob Riley has contacted gambling commissions throughout the country notifying them of the court’s decision and urging the commissions to make sure the gambling machine manufacturers they regulate cease all illegal activity in Alabama.
“The Supreme Court’s ruling is crystal clear. All these so-called electronic bingo machines are illegal in Alabama and it’s time for them to go,” said Governor Riley. “We warned the gambling commissions and the slot machine manufacturers almost a year ago that these machines are illegal, so the Supreme Court’s ruling can’t be a surprise to them. It certainly isn’t to us.
“This ruling has statewide authority. It references every bingo amendment in Alabama and provides a clear and precise definition of bingo that applies to every county,” the Governor said. “What we’ve told the commissions is they need to make sure the manufacturers that operate under their jurisdiction are complying with the law in Alabama. For our part, we intend to prosecute violations of our law to the fullest extent.”
A copy of Governor Riley’s letter to the gambling commissions of Nevada, New Jersey, Michigan, Colorado, Mississippi, Louisiana and Arizona can be viewed by clicking here.
Riley's line-in-the-casino floor is something of a double-edged sword, coming as it does on the heels of former Riley campaign aide Bill Johnson's claim that Riley took money from Mississippi Native American tribes as they tried to block competing gaming establishments from growing in Alabama.
Riley denies the charges and says all of their campaign money is accounted for in filings. But Alabama's permissive PAC to PAC transfers make it impossible to prove or disprove that.
Also, the reason all of those electronic gambling places exist is because people like 'em...and candidates who support Riley's ham fisted opposition may be on the receiving end of some voter backlash.
[NOTE: I've never been to an electronic Bingo place (or the other non-electronic kind either!), nor to any of the state's other gaming facilities. I don't gamble. But if other folks want to, who am I to say no? Especially if the places are properly taxed.]
[UPDATE: Birmingham News reports Country Crossing development going full speed ahead, despite Riley edict. Does he really want to go to war with the country music crowd too?]
If others want to smoke crack, do you feel the same?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous beat me to it.
ReplyDeleteWe can't go around legalizing everything because the majority of us do it. That would lead to mass hysteria!
I don't see how those state gambling commissions have authority to prohibit the shipment of the machines into Alabama. They don't manufacture them; they just license them for their own states.
ReplyDeleteSorry. The above comment "I don't see . . ." was from me, Jay Croft
ReplyDeleteIf a slot machine manufacturer is found to be doing something illegal in any other state, it loses its ability to conduct business in a state with a gambling commission. For example, if Bally's is regulated by the Nevada commission and it is found to have illegally sent slot machines to Victoryland, then it loses its ability to conduct business in Nevada. That's essentially the death penalty for these machine makers.
ReplyDelete