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HOME News Wind Creek Reopens Alabama Casinos June 8, 2020, 11:48 am Casino and hospitality company Wind Creek Hospitality is set to reopen today its three electronic bingo casinos in Alabama. The Alabama Supreme Court overturned lower court rulings last Friday, allowing lawsuits to proceed that could shutdown the handful of gaming operators that are operating in the state. News Headlines Continued Alabama May Receive Percentage of Casino Profits Victoryland Reopens AL Casinos Needed to Balance Budget Wind Creek Casino Voted 'Best to Work For' Bok Homa Casino Celebrates 5 Years $65 Expansion Opens at Wind Creek Montgomery Poarch Band of. BUSTED: Texas home raided for running makeshift casino In the late 1990s, the Alabama-Coushattas began to see how other Native American tribes, including its sister tribe in Louisiana, the.
Progressing lawsuits
Latest Casino and Gambling News, Tribal Gaming, Casino News, Alabama In Alabama, the pastor of a Baptist church in the city of Wetumpka returned a $25,000 donation from the Poarch Band of Creek Indians after a Sunday vote by members of the congregation decided that accepting the. Alabama casino heist suspect denied bond.
The Alabama Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the courts in two rural counties were incorrect for dismissing lawsuits filed by the state aimed at having three casinos declared public nuisances.
As a result of the Supreme Court decision, the state can proceed with its cases against VictoryLand in Macon County and the cases against Southern Star Entertainment and White Hall Entertainment in Lowndes County.
have flagrantly violated Alabama’s laws.”
Attorney General Steve Marshall and his office are looking for injunctions to permanently shut down the three casinos. In a statement, Marshall said “For too long, these individuals, businesses, and even elected officials have flagrantly violated Alabama’s laws.”
A VictoryLand attorney commented on the Supreme Court decision, noting that while the state will have a chance to prove its case, the casino will not be making any immediate changes to its operations.
Defendants’ arguments
The defendants were calling for the suits to be dismissed, saying that the state courts did not possess the power needed to hear them. The defendants also claimed that the state’s shutdown attempts were wrong because the Poarch Band of Creek Indians-operated Wind Creek casinos were not included among the lawsuits.
County judges ruled in favor of the casinos last year, dismissing the lawsuits in Macon County and Lowndes County.
However, the Supreme Court rejected the idea that the tribe should be included and deemed the local circuit courts as having sufficient power to hear the cases.
Basis for shutdown attempts
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The state has been persistent in trying to shut down gambling halls that have electronic bingo games. The lawsuits against the three casinos were originally filed in 2017, calling on the courts to declare these casinos public nuisances as a result of their promotion of illegal gambling.
slot machines do not adhere to the same legal definition as bingo
Certain counties have approved constitutional amendments for bingo, leading to the electronic bingo casinos. The state, however, considers these bingo machines to operate and look like slot machines; slot machines do not adhere to the same legal definition as bingo.
Alabama is traditionally a very conservative state when it comes to gambling. It is one of only a handful of states that does not currently have a state lottery.
The Alabama Supreme Court overturned lower court rulings last Friday, allowing lawsuits to proceed that could shutdown the handful of gaming operators that are operating in the state.
Lawsuits were filed by the state against the three racino-style gaming properties in Alabama in 2017, but were dismissed by the Macon County and Lowndes County circuit courts in 2019, according to the Opelika-Auburn News.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, who was appointed to the position earlier that year, argued that the properties were operating in defiance of Alabama state law. When the lower courts of both counties dismissed the case, Marshall appealed to the highest court in the state, which eventually ruled in his favor.
Certain counties in Alabama, which is one of the most anti-gambling states in the country and one of the few without a state lottery, instituted constitutional amendments to allow for bingo in the area. VictoryLand Casino in Macon Country, Southern Hall Entertainment Center and White Hall Entertainment Center in Lowndes County all operate “bingo-style” gaming machines that are eerily similar to slot machines.
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Marshall argues that these machines are closer to slot machines than bingo and should be banned under Alabama law.
“For too long, these individuals, businesses and even elected officials have flagrantly violated Alabama’s laws,” said Marshall in a statement.
Several Macon County officials, including the county sheriff, have voiced support for the property and believe it is operating within the boundaries of the law.
With the Supreme Court’s ruling, the cases will immediately return to the lower courts and proceedings will resume. The tribal casinos in the state, all of which are owned by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, will not be affected by the outcome of the cases.
Earlier this year, the tribe was pushing for a gaming compact with the state. But Gov. Kay Ivey said that she won’t sign a compact until a study focusing on the effects of gambling on the state is completed.
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