Prison changes, lottery bills postponed as session cut short
Lawmakers used their abbreviated meeting time to focus on state budgets and passing a $1.25 billion bond issue to fund school construction.
Kay Ivey seeks pause on gambling debate, says facts needed
Kay Ivey said she wants to hear findings from a new work group before the gambling issue moves forward.
Daniel Sutter: Should we exercise the freedom to bet on sports?
Four states have already legalized sports betting in the wake of last May’s Supreme Court decision. While many Alabamians have moral objections to gambling, economics also provides a reason not to bet on sports, namely that betting will be unprofitable. And this illustrates an important aspect of financial markets in general. To understand the likely unprofitability of betting, let’s consider the most common football bet, one against the point spread. One team is favored by a given number of points and must win by this number to win a bet; the underdog wins by winning or losing by less than the spread. Bets against the spread should be fair, meaning that the favorite and underdog should be equally likely to win. Bets are not quite fair because sportsbooks deduct a fee so they can make money. Despite the fees, sports bettors who pick all winners will make handsome profits. And if you think you know football, you might think you can pick winners for at least some games. But sports’ entertaining unpredictability also makes picking just winners impossible. And because of the betting lines, you cannot profit by just betting on the Alabama Crimson Tide, who win almost every game. If point spreads are accurate, bettors will not be able to pick enough winners to profit. Accuracy does not mean that the spread exactly predicts each game, but is better at forecasting outcomes than any other method. Is this really true? Dozens of published papers have found that sports betting lines accurately predict outcomes. Alternatively, economists try to find profitable betting strategies given the sportsbooks’ fees; the published research yields few winning formulas. Accurate point spreads yield a surprising implication: experts should not do any better than amateurs or luck in picking winners. Flipping a coin to decide who to bet should be as reliable as a super handicapper’s “lock of the year.” This theory of efficient financial markets was first developed for the stock market. The price of a company’s stock should be our best forecast of its future performance. Some stocks clearly deliver tremendous returns: a $1,000 investment in Amazon or Netflix in 2007 would have been worth $12,000 and $51,000 respectively a decade later. But who knew to invest in Amazon in 1997, Apple in 1978, or General Motors in 1920? Warren Buffet passed on investing early in Amazon. How do financial markets accomplish this? Once markets exist for stocks, bonds, sports bets, gold, Bitcoin, or anything else, millions of investors can invest where they see value. If you think that Amazon’s stock is still underpriced, then buy now. Of course, someone will only sell to you because they do not think Amazon is undervalued at today’s price. Stocks, gold, and football point spreads must all be priced to balance the number of buyers and sellers most of the time. One guiding principle for financial research has been that it cannot be easy to get rich. If it were easy to get rich and remained so over time, then everyone would be rich. A satisfactory theory of financial markets must reflect this reality. Prices generally quickly incorporate news affecting a company’s or team’s prospects. Why then bet on sports? Some people enjoy having action on games and sweating their bets. Betting on your favorite team can also signal your loyalty. Finally, some people, I think, like the challenge of trying to beat the market by finding some heretofore unrecognized pattern. Market efficiency does not mean that nothing remains to be learned about teams’ performance. The potential to make money in stock, bond, futures, and foreign currency markets motivates similar efforts by analysts on Wall Street and across the world. This research further improves financial markets. Even should Alabama legalize sports betting, I won’t be placing many bets. I would be denying the power of markets if I did. Studying economics pays off, sometimes just by avoiding unprofitable decisions. ••• Daniel Sutter is the Charles G. Koch Professor of Economics with the Manuel H. Johnson Center for Political Economy at Troy University and host of Econversations on TrojanVision. The opinions expressed in this column are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of Troy University.
Daniel Sutter: Should Alabama bet on sports betting?
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last May that states could legalize sports betting. New Jersey, Delaware, West Virginia and Mississippi have joined Nevada in offering legal sports betting, and about twenty other states have taken steps toward legalization. Should Alabama join this crowd? The size of the sports betting market is one argument in the affirmative. We lack accurate statistics on the current largely illegal U.S. sports betting market. A 1999 Congressional study estimated that Americans bet between $80 and $380 billion annually, while pro and college football betting has recently been estimated at $100 billion. A study by Oxford Economics for the American Gaming Association estimated that nationwide legalization and mobile betting could result in a $300 billion a year market. Most of the bets are paid out to the winning gamblers, but book makers keep some for expenses and profits. Legalization brings this gaming revenue out of the black market or back from off shore casinos to support jobs in states legalizing betting. Oxford Economics projects that nationwide legalization could create 90,000 jobs and annual tax revenue of $8 billion, through taxes on gambling and taxes paid by now legal employees. Without legalization, Alabama will not share in these jobs and tax revenues. Alabama sports bettors’ money will support businesses and government services in other states. While jobs and tax revenue are nice, prosperity ultimately involves providing goods, services, and activities people want. Jobs from value-creating businesses – those providing the most desired goods and services – create economically thriving communities. Alabama will miss out on a value-creating industry by not legalizing sports betting. But does sports betting truly generate value? A skeptic could point out that gambling is a zero-sum game (the losses cancel out wins) and creates no products. Yet millions of people value having action on games and get satisfaction from their winning bets. People willingly place bets they know they might lose. Economists call such satisfaction utility. All economic activity beyond sustenance and survival is about generating utility by providing people with things they want. Why do people enjoy betting? Economists leave such questions to psychologists. The exclusively voluntary nature of market activities excludes predatory activities from value creation. Everyone must either want to participate (place bets) or be compensated to participate – say cleaning up the sportsbook at night. Sports betting passes the voluntary participation test. Sports betting’s biggest negative is the problem gamblers who lose more than they can afford, resulting in bankruptcy and devastating families. This is most unfortunate, but are problem gamblers better off with prohibition? People have long been able to bet illegally, with online betting only making access easier. Prohibition, however, makes problem gambler’s difficulties worse. Legal sportsbooks will not break legs to collect debts; indeed, it will not be profitable to let gamblers make bets they cannot pay off. Regulations on legal betting can help protect problem gamblers from themselves and ensure help is available when wanted. The increased betting volume from legalization increases the risk of gamblers paying players to fix games. This is a real threat: the “Black Sox” scandal nearly ruined major league baseball, and college players who will never play professionally might find gamblers’ dollars very tempting. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver proposed that an integrity fee on all bets, with leagues using the proceeds to guard against illicit deals. Sportsbooks, though, already have a strong incentive to protect the integrity of games. A $300 billion a year betting market will generate significant profits for years to come provided the public does not view the contests as rigged. Sportsbooks also will not want to pay off rigged bets. Suspicious betting patterns and statistical analysis can help identify rigged contests. Scandals will undoubtedly occur, but cooperation between sportsbooks, the leagues, and law enforcement should keep the contests legitimate. Jobs, taxes, and losing both to neighboring states are all worthwhile considerations. But I think that the most compelling argument is the freedom to engage legally in an activity many Alabamians value. Despite the benefits, I wouldn’t bet on Alabama legalizing sports betting anytime soon. ••• Daniel Sutter is the Charles G. Koch Professor of Economics with the Manuel H. Johnson Center for Political Economy at Troy University and host of Econversations on TrojanVision. The opinions expressed in this column are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of Troy University.
Is Alabama’s hostility to gambling finally fading?
Situated firmly in the Bible Belt, Alabama has long been against legalizing gambling. That is perhaps changing, as Alabama voters nominated candidates for governor — Republican Kay Ivey and Democrat Walt Maddox — who both favor creating a state lottery. “The resistance is now openly fraying, suggesting that gambling is no longer a potent moral issue that animates voters and politicians the way it once did,” wrote New York Times reporter Alan Blinder. Christian leaders change their perspective The New York Times says the hostility toward gambling may be decreasing as Christian leaders are no longer prioritizing the issue the way they used to. “The biggest priority right now for me is reminding evangelicals of why we are opposed to gambling, which means teaching a biblical view of economic stewardship and a biblical view of concern for the poor,” Russell Moore, who leads the Southern Baptist Convention’s public policy arm and is a native of the casino-dotted Mississippi coast told the New York Times. “I’m not concerned that evangelicals are changing their position on gambling, as much as I’m concerned that there’s often a kind of fatalism that assumes that gambling is going to be part of every economy.” The gambling debate Alabama has long struggled with the issue of gambling, as lawmakers faced several bills in recent sessions of the legislature aimed at loosening gambling laws, allowing the state to take part in the lucrative gaming industry. But state lawmakers haven’t voted on legalizing gambling in nearly 19 years as recent efforts have stalled. Last it happened was under then-Gov. Don Siegelman. In August 2016, the Greene County Circuit Court sided with the state of the of Alabama over controversial seizures of electronic bingo machines at the Frontier Bingo of Knoxville. In March 2014, Alabama law enforcement officers raided several casinos in Greene County, seizing cash and more than 1,000 illegal bingo machines. The raids and subsequent ending of bingo operations were “extremely detrimental to the quality of life” in the region, according to some community leaders. Another salvo in the battle over gambling was fired by the VictoryLand Casino, which reopened despite a ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court shutting down electronic bingo operations for nearly three years, The Shorter casino has been shuttered since 2013 when a raid by the state took 1,615 gambling machines and $260,000 in cash. And in March 2016, the Supreme Court said casino owners were passing off games as “bingo,” and the machines were illegal. In November 2015, Bentley rescinded an executive order disbanding his predecessor’s gambling task force, transferring enforcement powers to the office of Attorney Gen. Luther Strange. Strange had also pushed hard against gambling, mainly daily fantasy sports (DFS) leagues operating in the state. Earlier this year, Strange had sent cease and desist letters to FanDuel and DraftKings, calling DFS “illegal gambling.” They have not operated in the state ever since, despite lawmaker’s attempts at legalizing DFS. Least gambling-addicted state For a state that’s constantly debating whether or not to institute a state lottery as a means to generate revenue, Alabama should probably consider a 2017 report that ranks the Yellowhammer State as the least gambling-addicted state in the country. In personal finance website WalletHub’s latest report of 2017’s Most Gambling-Addicted States, analysts found Alabama is neither gambling-friendly nor do its residents have the need to seek treatment for gambling addiction. Perhaps it’s simply a matter of access, but Alabamians are able to avoid the economic consequences of a gambling addiction, which affects slightly more than 2 percent of all U.S. adults. According to the Mayo Clinic, “gambling can stimulate the brain’s reward system much like drugs such as alcohol can, leading to addiction.” That addiction can lead to serious economic consequences. On a societal level, compulsive gambling costs an estimated $6 billion per year, according to a study by the National Council on Problem Gambling.
Sanctuary cities could get boost from sports betting ruling
In President Donald Trump’s former life as a casino owner, he might have cheered Monday’s ruling from the Supreme Court that struck down a federal law that barred every state but Nevada from allowing betting on most sporting events. But the Trump administration opposed the outcome reached by the high court at least in part because it could signal trouble in its legal fight against so-called sanctuary states and cities. Seven of the nine justices — five conservatives and two liberals — backed a robust reading of the Constitution’s 10th Amendment and a limit on the federal government’s power to force the states go along with Washington’s wishes. The federal anti-gambling law is unconstitutional because “it unequivocally dictates what a state legislature may and may not do,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote in his majority opinion. “It’s as if federal officers were installed in state legislative chambers and were armed with the authority to stop legislators from voting on any offending proposals.” There is a direct link between the court’s decision in the sports betting case and the administration’s effort to punish local governments that resist Trump’s immigration enforcement policies, several legal commentators said. “The court ruled definitively that the federal government can’t force states to enforce federal law. In the immigration context, this means it can’t require state or local officials to cooperate with federal immigration authorities,” said Ilya Shapiro, a senior fellow in constitutional studies at the libertarian Cato Institute. Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU’s immigrants’ rights project, said the ruling reinforced decisions from the 1990s, including one that struck down part of a federal gun control law that required local police to determine if buyers were fit to own handguns. “It reiterates that the real thrust of the 10th Amendment and the principles of law in this area is that the fed government can’t tell the states or cities how to legislate,” Jadwat said. The amendment says that powers not specifically given to the federal government belong to the states. The gun law decision split the court’s conservatives and liberals in 1997, in keeping with conservatives’ complaints about the federal government’s overreach and the importance of states’ rights. But on Monday, Justices Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan joined their more conservative colleagues. The Justice Department declined to comment on the decision, but it had called on the court to uphold the federal law at issue — the department’s usual practice when federal laws are challenged — by arguing that there was no constitutional violation. In the most recent ruling about sanctuary cities, the federal appeals court in Chicago held last month that the federal government cannot withhold public safety grants from cities that won’t go along with Trump’s immigration enforcement policies. In lawsuits challenging the administration, cities argue that turning local police authorities into immigration officers erodes trust with minority communities and discourages residents from reporting crime. The administration says sanctuary jurisdictions allow dangerous criminals back on the street. The administration’s efforts to crack down on places that don’t comply with immigration authorities have taken several forms. Trump issued an executive order aimed at withholding federal money from recalcitrant jurisdictions. The administration also has sued California over three laws aimed at protecting immigrants in the country illegally. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
Gambling king, VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor dies at 78
Gambling king and VictoryLand casino founder Milton McGregor died Sunday at the age of 78. Public relations firm Direct Communications said McGregor died peacefully in his Montgomery, Ala. home. An affable and charming fixture of the state’s business and political worlds, he advertised his casino with the slogan, which he drawled in Southern baritone, “Come join us… you can be a winner too.” His business interests included banking and nursing homes, but he was best known for developing a dog track-turned-casino in the Bible Belt state. The operation at one point boasted 6,400 electronic gambling machines, more than many Las Vegas casinos. Raised the son of a widow who ran a small town grocery, McGregor began finding success in the 1980s at the start of the video game craze, with an arcade and a business leasing the games. He opened VictoryLand dog track casino in Macon County in 1984 and later acquired a defunct horse track in Birmingham for dog racing. He then bet big on electronic bingo. Alabama law allows bingo in some locations, including Macon County. McGregor invested millions of dollars in a VictoryLand expansion, filling it with machines that played lightning quick games of bingo electronically, but on the outside replicated the experience of playing a slot machine with whirling displays and chimes. He added a swanky 300-room adjacent hotel and restaurants in an attempt to compete with neighboring Mississippi casinos. Macon County politicians praised McGregor for bringing jobs to the economically depressed county. But not everyone in the conservative state was pleased by his efforts. The state launched a still ongoing effort to close the casino, saying the slot machine-like games were illegal and not what was intended by the state laws allowing bingo. McGregor came out on the winning side of a high-profile government corruption case in 2012. Federal prosecutors in 2010 indicted McGregor, another casino developer, lobbyists and politicians on charges that they orchestrated a scheme to buy votes at the Alabama State House for gambling legislation. Prosecutors said McGregor was trying to ensure the continued operation of the casino that they said profited $40 million in a single year. A first trial ended with a hung jury. A second jury acquitted McGregor of all charges, and McGregor reopened the casino. “Now I’m focused on getting 3,000 people back to work and charities and governmental agencies receiving revenue, as they should have been all the time,” McGregor told The Associated Press after his acquittal. McGregor is survived by his wife of 50 years, Patricia Turner McGregor, daughter Kim McGregor and husband Dan Hix, daughter Cindy and husband Lewis Benefield. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
Alabama ranks 2017’s least gambling-addicted state
For a state that’s constantly debating whether or not to institute a state lottery as a means to generate revenue, Alabama should probably consider a new report that ranks the Yellowhammer State as the least gambling-addicted state in the country. In personal finance website WalletHub’s latest report of 2017’s Most Gambling-Addicted States, analysts found Alabama is neither gambling-friendly nor do its residents have the need to seek treatment for gambling addiction. “Gambling disorder, as the affliction is known, affects slightly more than 2 percent of all U.S. adults,” writes WalletHub. According to the Mayo Clinic, “Gambling can stimulate the brain’s reward system much like drugs such as alcohol can, leading to addiction.” “That addiction can lead to serious economic consequences,” WalletHub continued. “On a societal level, compulsive gambling costs an estimated $6 billion per year, according to a study by the National Council on Problem Gambling. Individually, a male gambling addict accumulates an average debt of between $55,000 and $90,000 whereas a female averages $15,000. Most cannot afford to pay back what they owe. As a result, gambling addicts develop a high tendency to amass even more debt, suffer from other health issues, lose their jobs, strain their relationships or even commit crimes.” In order to determine where gambling addiction is most prevalent and harmful in America, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states across two key dimensions, namely “Gambling-Friendliness” and “Gambling Problem & Treatment.” Alabama ranked 47 and 45, respectively. WalletHub evaluated those two dimensions using 15 relevant metrics including: Commercial & Tribal Casinos per Capita;Gaming Machines per 1,000 Population; Share of Adults Aged 18 & Older with Gambling Disorders; Legality of Daily Fantasy Sports; Presence of Illegal Gambling Operations Gambling addiction in Alabama (1= most addicted, 25= avg.): 36th: Casinos per capita 34th: Gaming machines per capita 45th: Lottery sales per capita 43rd: Gambling-related arrests per capita 36th: Legality of daily fantasy sports Meanwhile, the most gambling-addicted state in the nation is Nevada, followed by South Dakota and Montana. Here’s how Alabama compares to the rest of the country: Source: WalletHub
Richard Shelby places friendly wager on Peach Bowl
In advance of Saturday’s Peach Bowl College Football Playoff Semi-final game between the #1-ranked University of Alabama Crimson Tide and the #4-ranked University of Washington Huskies, two Senators have made a friendly playoff bet, with the wager being hometown eats. Alabama’s senior U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby and Washington’s Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell announced a the friendly bet — should the Huskies win, Shelby will provide two racks of ribs from Dreamland BBQ in Tuscaloosa, Ala. for Cantwell’s office. Should the Crimson Tide win, Cantwell has promised to deliver salmon to Shelby’s office. Shelby is confident in a Crimson Tide victory, accrediting the team’s assumed preparation to famed football coach Nick Saban. “These two teams should be extremely proud of their accomplishments so far in the season,” said Shelby. “I have no doubt that Coach Saban will have our team prepared and that they will represent our state well during this match-up. I’m pleased to enter into this friendly wager with my colleague, and I’m confident that the Crimson Tide will prevail and take us into another national championship game.” Cantwell hopes Shelby’s wrong. “This will be one of the best games of the year,” said Senator Cantwell. “There’s no doubt that Alabama has a powerhouse program, but I’ll be cheering the Dawgs on to victory.” The Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, will take place on Saturday, December 31, at 3:00 p.m. ET in Atlanta, Ga.
Gambling industry hopes casino mogul in White House pays off
Donald Trump will be the first U.S. president to have ever owned a casino, and the gambling industry is wondering how he will handle three major issues: internet gambling, sports betting and daily fantasy sports. The industry has sent its wish list to the president-elect. The American Gaming Association told The Associated Press it has asked Trump for fewer regulations, approval of sports betting, a crackdown on illegal gambling, tax reform and immigration policies that don’t dry up the flow of overseas gamblers – and workers – to U.S. casinos. “President Trump, his administration and Congress will unquestionably implement policies that will directly impact our industry for years to come,” Whitaker Askew, the association’s vice president, told the AP. Kirk Blalock, a lobbyist who worked for the George W. Bush administration, said Trump “comes to the table with a good, solid understanding of how the industry works and what the challenges are.” Just three states – New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware – allow internet gambling, and well-financed opponents, backed by billionaire casino magnate and Trump backer Sheldon Adelson, want to ban it nationwide. Trump and his daughter, Ivanka, formed a company in New Jersey to explore the possibility of offering internet gambling in New Jersey before the state legalized it in 2013, but never applied for a license to do it. In a brief interview in September, Trump told the AP he had not settled on a position regarding online gambling. “I have a lot of friends on both sides of this issue,” he said. His transition team did not respond to several recent requests for comment. The gaming association does not take a position on internet gambling. Sports betting is currently legal in four states: Nevada, Oregon, Delaware and Montana. And dozens of states are grappling with whether daily fantasy sports, in which players put up money to compete with each other to assemble teams of athletes who accrue points based on their real-world performances, constitutes a game of skill that does not need to be regulated, or gambling, which does. In a November 2015 interview with Fox Sports 1, Trump indicated he would not oppose sports betting or daily fantasy sports. “I’m OK with it because it’s happening anyway,” he said. Trump owned three casinos in Atlantic City, as well as one in Indiana for a time. Two of his former Atlantic City casinos, Trump Plaza and the Trump Taj Mahal, have closed. The third, Trump Marina, was sold to Texas billionaire Tilman Fertitta, who now runs it as the Golden Nugget. Steve Norton, an Indiana casino consultant who worked with Trump in the 1980s, predicted he will ultimately oppose nationwide approval of internet gambling, due in part to Adelson’s opposition, but said he does not think Trump would move to strip it from states that already offer it. “Sports betting, on the other hand is a multibillion-dollar industry, mostly illegal,” Norton said. “I believe the positives of oversight, taxing and ensuring fair odds outweigh any negatives, and hopefully Mr. Trump will support individual states rights, and help overturn” a federal ban. Norton predicted daily fantasy sports will be “a non-issue” for Trump, who will leave it to states to regulate or not. The association’s letter asks Trump to make sure Yucca Mountain in Nevada is not reconsidered as a repository for the nation’s nuclear waste because it is just 90 miles from Las Vegas. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Robert Bentley announces members of Alabama Advisory Council on Gaming
Gov. Robert Bentley on Friday announced the appointments for his newly-created Alabama Advisory Council on Gaming. Bentley’s appointments come three weeks after he announced the formation of the council earlier this month by signing Executive Order Number 24. The Council has been tasked with examining both state and local laws on gambling, taxes generated, and evaluate the best practices on gambling in other states, as well as compare Alabama to federal legislation governing gaming. “I am looking forward to the recommendations presented by this 11 person Advisory Council,” Governor Bentley said in a news release. “In recent years, a considerable amount of time and resources have been spent debating gaming in Alabama; however I am hopeful this group will present some new ideas or solutions that can help resolve this ongoing dispute and provide a clear direction going forward.” Finance Director Clinton Carter has been named chairman of the Advisory Council by the Governor’s Office. The appointments are as follows: Governor’s appointments: Jim Byard, Jr.: Director of Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs Clinton Carter: Director of Finance Department Curtis Stewart: Deputy Commissioner of Alabama Department of Revenue Carrie McCollum: General Counsel for Alabama Credit Union Administration Connie Rowe: State Representative Pro Tem’s appointments: Bobby Singleton: State Senator Greg Albritton: State Senator Speaker’s appointments: Jim Carns: State Representative Craig Ford: State Representative District Attorneys Association: Barry Matson: Deputy Director Sheriffs Association: Bobby Timmons: Executive Director All appointments are effective immediately. The Council will be meeting through the remainder of the year and will present their findings and make recommendations to the Governor, the President Pro Tem of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House on Jan. 31, 2017.
Gov. Robert Bentley seeks comprehensive review of gambling in Alabama, forms new Gaming Council
Gov. Robert Bentley is calling for a comprehensive review of gambling in Alabama, with the formation of a panel to provide recommendations that could lead to substantial changes in how gaming is addressed throughout the state. On Monday, Bentley signed Executive Order 24, creating the Alabama Advisory Council on Gaming. The job of the council will be to examine both state and local laws on gambling, taxes generated, and evaluate the best practices on gambling in other states, as well as compare Alabama to federal legislation governing gaming. According to the governor’s official website, the board will include seven appointments by the governor, two from the Alabama House of Representatives — named by the House Speaker; one Democrat and one Republican — two appointments from the Alabama Senate chosen by the Senate President Pro Tem (one from each party as well) and additional appointments “as the governor deems necessary.” Also, the council will include a member of the Alabama Sheriffs Association and one from the Alabama District Attorneys Association, each appointed by the governor. Alabama has long struggled with the issue of gambling, as lawmakers faced several bills this year aimed at loosening gambling laws, allowing the state to take part in the lucrative gaming industry. Although several bills had made headway through the Legislature, Alabama Today has reported earlier that few have gained traction during the 2016 Legislative Session, which was “marred in controversy over ill-fated budgets and sexually explicit recordings.” In August, the Greene County Circuit Court sided with the state of the of Alabama over controversial seizures of electronic bingo machines at the Frontier Bingo of Knoxville. In March 2014, Alabama law enforcement officers raided several casinos in Greene County, seizing cash and more than 1,000 illegal bingo machines. The raids and subsequent ending of bingo operations were “extremely detrimental to the quality of life” in the region, according to some community leaders. Another salvo in the battle over gambling was fired by the VictoryLand Casino, which reopened despite a ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court shutting down electronic bingo operations for nearly three years, The Shorter casino has been shuttered since 2013 when a raid by the state took 1,615 gambling machines and $260,000 in cash. The Supreme Court said in March that casino owners were passing off games as “bingo,” and the machines were illegal. Nevertheless, in August, VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor announced the state closure itself was illegal, and the casino reopened in September, without any immediate threat from local law enforcement. “While it has taken longer than we hoped,” McGregor said, “the time is now here, and we are pleased that hundreds of our people will have a new job, and VictoryLand will be generating a badly needed shot in the arm for Tuskegee and this entire region of Alabama.” In November 2015, Bentley rescinded an executive order disbanding his predecessor’s gambling task force, transferring enforcement powers to the office of Attorney Gen. Luther Strange. Strange had also pushed hard against gambling, mainly daily fantasy sports leagues operating in the state. Earlier this year, Strange had sent cease and desist letters to FanDuel and DraftKings, calling DFS “illegal gambling.” “As attorney general, it is my duty to uphold Alabama law, including the laws against illegal gambling,” Strange said in April. “Daily fantasy sports operators claim that they operate legally under Alabama law. However, paid daily fantasy sports contests are in fact illegal gambling under Alabama law.” The state’s attitude on gambling could change considerably, based on the recommendations of the newly formed Gaming Council. “Gaming in Alabama has been a long-term subject of dispute and controversy,” Bentley said in a statement. “This council will work to provide a fresh perspective on past efforts and a clear path forward as it pertains to gaming in the State of Alabama.” Bentley said he will soon name the appointees and set a date for the council’s first meeting. The board has been given a Jan. 31, 2017 deadline to present findings and recommendations on gambling to the Governor, the Senate President Pro Tem, and House Speaker.
