Casinos Reopen In Alabama, Bingo Machines Legal Once More

Casino News - December 2nd, 2009 - Written by Glen

Alabama has had troubling times with casino gambling recently, running players out of electronic bingo halls and shutting down the appropriate venues. A recent court hearing overturned the ban on the machines, allowing them as long as they are sufficiently different from slot machines.

One electronic bingo hall is set to reopen, while a new one is planning to open its doors for the first customers. The legal battle has yet to conclude, with attorneys still at war over the legislation.

Earlier in the year, Governor Riley concocted the Task Force on Illegal Gambling. A raid in March targeted the White Hall Resort and Entertainment Center near Montgomery. Over 900 machines were shut down after a ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court declared that evidence showed that the machines were too similar to slot games. The hearing set several criterion for legal digital bingo machines. Amongst the criteria was the necessity for numbers to be called individually and forcing players to mark cards.

While the White Hall is set to reopen, the County Crossing Casino in Dothan opened Tuesday. An RV park, an inn, restaurants, and the bingo hall are opening , delivering 1,700 legal gambling machines to the players entering the gaming center. Authorities are planning on keeping their eyes on the gaming center, and the machines were set to be inspected prior to opening to the public.

Many local jurisdictions have already approved bingo in many areas, allowing both classic paper gaming as well as electronic bingo games. Thousands of machines are scattered around the state, but only Legal USA Online Casinos can be played with out threat of legal interdiction.

The Associated Press contributed to this Article