The Commission of Etowah County has extended an agreement with an electronic bingo developer to allow for the developer to tackle the legality of electronic bingo in Alabama. This extension gives the developer an additional year to process its legal case in the courts. The agreement states the county taxes on the developer’s company and their requirement of creating jobs.
The Agreement
On Tuesday the Commission in Etowah County Alabama voted unanimously to extend their agreement with an electronic bingo developer who wishes to open electronic and charitable bingo to Etowah County. The agreement was set to expire on Friday so the attorney for the developer asked the Commission to extend their agreement for another year based on due diligence. The attorney stated that the company did not want to start any electronic bingo forums until they knew it was legal. The additional year allows the developer and their attorney to take their case to court in order to determine the legality of electronic bingo in Alabama. The Commission said that they could not determine the legality outside of the courts and that they could only regulate the industry. The agreement states that the electronic bingo company has a capital investment of $200 million as well as determining the county’s taxes on the company and the requirement of creating jobs by the company. More specifically, the agreement says that for every $1 million that the company invests they must create ten jobs. The Commission says that all electronic bingo companies must follow this agreement.
Legal Obstacles
The electronic bingo company has faced legal battles at the state and local levels. The Commission says that the only bingo allowed to operate in the state of Alabama is charitable bingo. Charitable bingo is defined as a bingo company that gives its net proceeds to county charities unless run by Native Americans who are under federal jurisdiction. The company is developing bingo machines that will meet the requirements made by the Supreme Court of Alabama and the County Commission. The Sheriff of the county stated that he must inspect the bingo machines to determine if they meet the requirements set by the court. The machines are also being independently tested by a gaming laboratory. Some commissioners have said they believe the approval of the extension will benefit the interest of taxpayers. The extension allows legal matters of gambling to be settled and allows the electronic bingo company to fix any problems with the machines.
