Strange right to go after Indian casinos

Strange right to go after Indian casinos
By Opelika-Auburn News Editorial Board

The players have changed, but the battle remains the same. Top government officials in Alabama still want to rid the state of electronic bingo – this time they’re taking aim in another direction.

Former Gov. Bob Riley and his task force headed by Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson waged war with privately-owned facilities such as VictoryLand, Greenetrack and Country Crossing, and won. Riley is no longer governor, there is no task force headed by Tyson, and VictoryLand, Greenetrack and Country Crossing no longer offer electronic bingo.

But new Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange -- a former lobbyist -- has lobbied to a federal agency that oversees Indian gambling to prohibit electronic bingo from Indian casinos in Alabama. Poarch Creek Indian Gaming operates three such casinos in the state: Wind Creek Casino in Atmore, Creek Casino in Wetumpka and Creek Casino in Montgomery

If the privately owned facilities cannot legally offer electronic bingo (machines that eerily resemble slots, but are not), then it makes sense that Indian-owned casinos cannot offer them either. Anything else would be a double standard. Was it fair for the Indian casinos to operate and offer the same games that VictoryLand offers while VictoryLand’s Quincy’s 777 remained under threat of police raid for weeks last year?

What’s wrong for one should be wrong for all. What’s right for one should be right for all.

The Alabama Supreme Court ruled last summer what was right and what was wrong, though new legislation to formally legalize such gaming failed in the Statehouse. In October, a handful of lawmakers, lobbyists and casino owners were arrested and face a number of corruption charges, including vote-buying for electronic bingo, in the Legislature.

Thus far, Indian casino owners have quietly kept their operations running.

We are not suggesting that electronic bingo is right or wrong. We do suggest that the laws of Alabama be followed. We applaud the new attorney general for standing up for Alabama’s laws at the federal level. We do not believe his predecessor would have done this.