MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama Supreme Court on Monday blocked a lower court’s order for the state of Alabama to return to VictoryLand Casino cash and gambling machines that were seized during a raid in 2013.
The stay was granted at the request of the Alabama attorney general’s office.
“I am pleased with the Alabama Supreme Court’s stay of the Circuit Court’s order concerning VictoryLand,” said Alabama Attorney General Strange. “The high court’s decision will prevent the release of all illegal electronic bingo machines seized at VictoryLand until the Supreme Court is able to rule on the state’s appeal. It is important that the case be allowed to progress through the entire judicial process so the legality of electronic bingo at VictoryLand can be settled once and for all.”
This is the second consecutive week of significant gambling-related news in Alabama.
Alabama Governor Robert Bentley (R) last Thursday signed an executive order stripping the attorney general’s office of the authority to enforce gaming laws, paving the way for gambling to take place in local areas under the supervision of sheriffs and district attorneys.
The move was a reversal of the first official act Bentley made as governor in 2011, when he renewed the AG’s authority to enforce the gambling laws.
Last month, Circuit Judge William Shashy ruled the executive order unconstitutional because he said it led to unequal enforcement of the laws in different areas of the state.
The rub revolved around Victoryland, which had been repeatedly shut down by state authorities, while other similar casinos in Greene and Lowndes Counties remained open.
“The State did not deny the existence of these casinos or the electronic bingo machines,” Shashy wrote in his ruling. “Thus, the Court reiterates its ruling that the State of Alabama is cherry picking which facilities should remain open or closed, and this Court will not be used as an instrument to perpetuate this unfair treatment.”
Shashy went on to instruct the state to return the 1,615 electronic bingo machines and $260,000 in cash that had been seized from VictoryLand over two years ago. The State’s appeal of that order now awaits a final ruling by the Supreme Court.
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