After the state Senate voted 18-16 Wednesday for a procedural motion on Bedford’s bingo bill, he said he wouldn’t bring it up again and “I think this issue is over.” Three-fifths of the Senate must vote to approve full debate on the bill, and the two-vote margin fell short of that standard.
So, for now, the issue appears to be dead in this session of the Legislature. Perhaps our elected officials will now turn to such vital issues as passing state budgets for our schools and other state agencies instead of dancing around, thundering about the evils of gambling or shouting, “Let the people vote.”
There is no doubt that Sen. Bedford’s bill was a bad one. We come to that conclusion not because we are inherently opposed to gambling, but because this bill would have allowed legal electronic bingo (assuming it would have passed in a statewide referendum) in only 10 areas of the state, and would have provided state-sanctioned monopolies at seven sites for those already in the gambling business. And, the license fees and proposed taxes on proceeds seem low compared to gambling policies in other parts of the country.
It is fact that gambling already exists in Alabama. We have dog tracks in Mobile, in Shorter, in Birmingham and in Eutaw. Giant bingo parlors exist in Lowndes County and Houston County, near Dothan. Those sites would have received permission for seven of the 10 bingo licenses to be issued under this bill. It would be a great advantage to have the state approve those gambling sites and prevent others from offering competition.
What Alabama needs is a clear, coherent position on gambling that charges fairly for the licenses, that taxes proceeds fairly for the benefit of the state, and ensures a level playing field for the industry.
First, we need an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that clarifies the legality of these “electronic bingo” machines. If the court finds they are slot machines, then the entire question becomes moot, as our state Constitution does not allow that kind of gambling. If they are in fact legal, then the people of Alabama should demand a process that ensures the people of the state will benefit, and not just those who now hold gambling licenses in the state.
Licenses should be bid for in an open process. A state gaming commission should enforce the same rules throughout the state. Licensing fees should be comparable to others throughout the country. Tax proceeds should be at a rate that benefits the taxpayers of Alabama.
Legalized gambling — whether with bingo games, a state lottery or other method — will not solve Alabama’s financial problems. We are surrounded on all sides by lotteries or full-fledged casinos, yet Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Mississippi all have their own financial crises looming, just as Alabama does.
If we are to have legalized gambling in Alabama, then let’s do let the people vote. And let them vote on a clean bill that makes the awarding of licenses an open and fair process, and a bill that ensures the people of the state benefit the most. The people are the ones our state Legislature should represent. Not the entrenched gambling interests who only want to expand their business.
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