January 15th, 2016 - District Attorney Falls Informs Public About the Law as it Relates to Bingo and Gambling
Law enforcement in Jefferson County has recently become aware that several establishments are preparing to open for the purpose of operating electronic bingo in Jefferson County. As District Attorney, it is necessary to keep the public informed about the law as it relates to bingo and gambling in Jefferson County.
The rules have not changed. Commercial gambling is illegal in Alabama under the constitutional prohibitions against lotteries and the state code. Several counties have constitutional amendments that allow bingo to be played in that county and under the rules set forth in that county’s amendment. Those rules have been clarified by Alabama Supreme Court rulings over the last several years.
In 2009, the Alabama Supreme Court stated, “The game of bingo contemplates a group activity in which multiple players compete against each other to be the first to properly mark a card with the predetermined winning pattern and announce that fact.” The Supreme Court further stated in 2014 that the game of bingo “is not one played by or within an electronic or computerized machine, terminal, or server, but is one played outside of machines and electronic circuitry. It is a group activity, and one that requires a meaningful measure of human interaction and skill…”
Therefore, any electronic or computerized version of bingo is illegal in Jefferson County.
Furthermore, Jefferson County’s constitutional amendment prohibits anyone from running a for-profit business to play bingo. The only entity that can operate a game is a non-profit organization with a charitable or educational purpose. The charity must have existed for two years, and the game must take place on the premises of the non-profit organization. The non-profit may not contract with anyone to operate the game, and may not pay for either consultants or for any services in relation to bingo.
Furthermore, the constitutional amendment mandates that “no person or organization, by whatever name or composition thereof, shall take any salary, expense money, or fees or remuneration for services rendered in the operation of any bingo game.” That means that a charity cannot pay a salary to “employees” and that all proceeds from the game must go to charitable and educational purposes.
Under these restrictions, there is no conceivable way that a business could legally operate in Jefferson County for the purposes of playing bingo, regardless of whether it is played using an electronic machine or not.
My office stands ready to assist the Sheriff, each police department, and any other law enforcement agency in enforcing the laws of Alabama. Any entity preparing to open an electronic gaming business should be on notice as to the laws of Alabama before attempting to do so. If anyone has received information that my office or the Sheriff’s office have approved any electronic bingo establishment or any electronic bingo game as legal, that information is false.
Ala.Const. Jefferson County § 2
Alternatively cited as AL CONST Amend. No. 386; AL CONST Amend. No. 600
The operation of bingo games for prizes or money by nonprofit organizations for charitable or educational purposes shall be legal in Jefferson County, subject to the provisions of any resolution or ordinance by the county governing body or the governing bodies of the respective cities and towns, within their respective jurisdictions. The said governing bodies shall have the authority to promulgate rules and regulations for the licensing and operation of bingo games, within their respective jurisdictions, provided, however, that said governing bodies must insure compliance with the following provisions:
(a) No person under the age of 19 shall be permitted to play any game or games of bingo, nor shall any person under the age of 19 be permitted to conduct or assist in the conduct of any game of bingo;
(b) No bingo license shall be issued to any nonprofit organization, unless such organization shall have been in existence for at least 24 months immediately prior to the issuance of the license;
(c) Bingo games shall be operated only on the premises owned or leased by the nonprofit organization operating the bingo game. If the premises is leased, the rate of rental shall not be based on a percentage of receipts or profits resulting from the operation of bingo games;
(d) No nonprofit organization shall enter into any contract with any individual, firm, association or corporation to have said individual or entity operate bingo games or concessions on behalf of the nonprofit organization, nor shall said nonprofit organization pay consulting fees to any individual or entity for any services performed in relation to the operation or conduct of a bingo game;
(e) A nonprofit organization shall not lend its name or allow its identity to be used by any other person or entity in the operating or advertising of a bingo game in which said nonprofit organization is not directly and solely operating said bingo game;
(f) Prizes given by any nonprofit organization for the playing of bingo games in Jefferson County shall not exceed the amounts set by local law;
(g) No person or organization, by whatever name or composition thereof, shall take any salary, expense money, or fees as remuneration for services rendered in the operation of any bingo game.
