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Commission needed to regulate bingo in Alabama
Bingo already is big business in Alabama. A batch of bills now winding
their way through the state Legislature could expand bingo further and
bring either more organization or more chaos to the patchwork that
exists.
Alabama should bring bingo and other gambling under the control of a single state gaming commission. That may have the unfortunate result of encouraging greater reliance on gambling taxes but the alternatives are worse.
You don't have to look further than Greene County to understand the dilemma. There, Greenetrack - a defunct dog-racing venue transformed to a bingo hall - is the largest private employer, providing about 300 steady jobs where they are sorely needed. There are spin-off benefits to the local economy. A trickle of the bingo proceeds help social service agencies. But whenever you are dealing with gambling, there are costs - and these aren't always easy to see.
There is reason to be concerned about bingo in Greene County. To begin with, it operates in apparent contradiction to the constitutional amendment that established bingo games in Greene County. Here is what the law says:
n "Bingo games for prizes or money may be operated by a nonprofit organization in Greene County. The sheriff shall promulgate rules and regulations for the licensing, permitting, and operation of bingo games within the county."
n "Bingo games shall be operated exclusively on the premises owned or leased by the nonprofit organziation operating the bingo game."
n "A nonprofit organization may not enter into any contract with any individual, firm, association, or corporation to have the individual or entity operate bingo games or concessions on behalf of the nonprofit organization."
Here is the reality in Greene County:
Bingo games are operated by a private corporation at Greenetrack, a privately owned facility. This isn't your grandmother's bingo: Greenetrack describes it as "Las Vegas style gaming machines." The financial books of that corporation are closed to public inspection. There is no way of knowing what percentage of bingo proceeds go to social service agencies, but it is a pittance.
How is this possible? Apparently because of the sweeping power of the sheriff to make the rules.
And how tight is the relationship between the Greene County Sheriff's Office and Greenetrack? This might be a clue: Sheriff Ison Thomas is the former chief of security at Greenetrack. His predecessor, Johnny Issac, also is a former Greenetrack employee.
That seems a little too cozy.
State Sen. Bobby Singleton, who represents Greene County, has introduced an amendment that would change things. It would transfer authority of bingo to a county gambling commission. It would legitimize bingo operations run by profit-making enterprises. And it would mandate annual payments to local governments of more than a million dollars.
Other bingo bills have been proposed to change bingo operations in Macon County and to put bingo under a state gaming commission.
We believe that if the state is going to allow betting, it should be brought under a state gaming commission. There should be consistency in how bingo is regulated and how much of the proceeds benefit nonprofit agencies, local and state governments. However it also is essential that the regulation of bingo is open to public inspection.
To do anything else is to invite abuse and corruption.
www.tuscaloosanews.com
Alabama should bring bingo and other gambling under the control of a single state gaming commission. That may have the unfortunate result of encouraging greater reliance on gambling taxes but the alternatives are worse.
You don't have to look further than Greene County to understand the dilemma. There, Greenetrack - a defunct dog-racing venue transformed to a bingo hall - is the largest private employer, providing about 300 steady jobs where they are sorely needed. There are spin-off benefits to the local economy. A trickle of the bingo proceeds help social service agencies. But whenever you are dealing with gambling, there are costs - and these aren't always easy to see.
There is reason to be concerned about bingo in Greene County. To begin with, it operates in apparent contradiction to the constitutional amendment that established bingo games in Greene County. Here is what the law says:
n "Bingo games for prizes or money may be operated by a nonprofit organization in Greene County. The sheriff shall promulgate rules and regulations for the licensing, permitting, and operation of bingo games within the county."
n "Bingo games shall be operated exclusively on the premises owned or leased by the nonprofit organziation operating the bingo game."
n "A nonprofit organization may not enter into any contract with any individual, firm, association, or corporation to have the individual or entity operate bingo games or concessions on behalf of the nonprofit organization."
Here is the reality in Greene County:
Bingo games are operated by a private corporation at Greenetrack, a privately owned facility. This isn't your grandmother's bingo: Greenetrack describes it as "Las Vegas style gaming machines." The financial books of that corporation are closed to public inspection. There is no way of knowing what percentage of bingo proceeds go to social service agencies, but it is a pittance.
How is this possible? Apparently because of the sweeping power of the sheriff to make the rules.
And how tight is the relationship between the Greene County Sheriff's Office and Greenetrack? This might be a clue: Sheriff Ison Thomas is the former chief of security at Greenetrack. His predecessor, Johnny Issac, also is a former Greenetrack employee.
That seems a little too cozy.
State Sen. Bobby Singleton, who represents Greene County, has introduced an amendment that would change things. It would transfer authority of bingo to a county gambling commission. It would legitimize bingo operations run by profit-making enterprises. And it would mandate annual payments to local governments of more than a million dollars.
Other bingo bills have been proposed to change bingo operations in Macon County and to put bingo under a state gaming commission.
We believe that if the state is going to allow betting, it should be brought under a state gaming commission. There should be consistency in how bingo is regulated and how much of the proceeds benefit nonprofit agencies, local and state governments. However it also is essential that the regulation of bingo is open to public inspection.
To do anything else is to invite abuse and corruption.
www.tuscaloosanews.com
