Our two candidates for governor have it right, at least on the surface, when it comes to dealing with so-called charity based casino bingo.

“There should be accountability and transparency when it comes to gaming in Alabama,” said Ron Sparks, the Democrat candidate.

Gambling operations should be required to make frequent public disclosures of contributions to charities that are sponsoring their games, says a spokesperson for Robert Bentley, the Republican candidate.

The comments followed disclosure last week about the vast sums of money taken in by Victoryland’s electronic bingo machines. Over five years, the machines took in gross revenues of $503 million. _Legalized bingo in Alabama requires a charitable entity as a sponsor. So how much of the $503 million went to charity? A whopping $4.4 million, or less than 1 percent per year. Those numbers were found in court documents when another would-be bingo operator in Macon County sued Milton McGregor’s Victoryland._So, our candidates seek accountability, and transparency and public disclosure. No argument with either of them on those remarks._ But gambling is going to remain a significant issue in this campaign and we urge both candidates to develop a detailed plan for dealing with it.

Here is our recommendation:

Somehow, get a bill passed in the Legislature that will allow referendums on gambling. But, let’s get the details right in this bill.

No one should have a guaranteed right to operate casinos. The license should be awarded by a state gambling commission that extracts a steep price from those who want to own gambling sites. Call it a franchise fee if you like, but unlike the vague requirements of the charity bingo bill, make sure it is specific, and the public — through the state’s revenue stream — benefits first.

Then, tax the games and those who lease the games to the casinos. Then, tax the amount bet. Sounds like a lot of taxing, but other states with legalized gambling do this, and they have plenty of folks ready to open casinos.

There is a lesson to be learned from other states as well. Gambling supporters often paint rosy pictures of more state revenue for schools and roads and police and mental health and on and on. But like everything else, gambling has its limits. At some point the market is saturated and those rosy pictures can lose focus very quickly.

Of course, this referendum idea might not work. The people of Alabama said no to a statewide vote on a lottery some years ago. That is their right._But it should also be the right of the people to vote on a bill with all the details in front of them. Charity bingo, and its woeful record of getting significant money to charity, is a fine example of what can happen if the details aren’t spelled out._Leave no loopholes.