Now, however, it seems the Indians may win one.
As this page noted last week, two gambling bills are moving through committees of the state Legislature. Both bills are flawed. However, from the perspective of Indians who operate legal casinos in the state, it doesn’t matter which gambling bill happens to pass.
If the bill that may come up in the state Senate this week is approved, the Poarch Band of Creek Indians will get to add electronic bingo to its Mobile County dog track. If the bill fails, Gov. Bob Riley’s task force will continue to try to close non-tribal bingo parlors, which will leave only the Indian bingo casinos in Wetumpka, Montgomery and Atmore for Alabama gamblers who don’t want to drive to Mississippi.
That would mean Native Americans will have a monopoly on electronic bingo in Alabama — and the state will get nothing in return.
Either way, the Indians win and the state loses.
Sweet revenge. In fact, they are already winning.
When the state’s largest electronic bingo operation, Victoryland in Shorter, closed recently to avoid being raided, the Indian casino in Wetumpka saw its business increase. Alabamians continue to gamble. Indian casinos, which operate under a legal compact with the state, are seeing profits.
The bingo battle is likely to come to a head this week when the proposed constitutional amendment to define, allow and regulate electronic bingo reaches the top of the Senate’s agenda. If that happens — and it passes — the bill still has to survive the House, where opponents appear to be stronger than in the Senate. Busy weeks are ahead.
But no matter the bill’s fate, the governor must slow down his crusade and realize Alabama’s Indian casinos are not going away.
That’s another reason why an agreement is needed between the state and tribes that clarifies which gambling is allowed and what revenue arrangement is appropriate.
If Riley cannot bring himself to make such an agreement, let’s hope his successor is less dogmatic and more pragmatic. It is time to apply reason to what politics has turned into an irrational situation.
