The State Assembly and Senate voted on 11 January to allow interstate gambling, which means players would only be playing bingo against other players in New Jersey.

The legislation now had to be approved by New Jersey governor Chris Christie; he has 45 days to pass it or veto it. The only concern for those hoping for online bingo in New Jersey is that Christie may come under extreme pressure at federal level to block the legislation. It is believed that the federal government is concerned that states will legislate online gambling in a piecemeal way, meaning that there is no consistency from state to state and the federal government would get no tax benefit from legislation.

A large number of online operators are likely to be interested in operating online bingo in New Jersey, with Playtech’s Virtue Fusion division likely to make the biggest push to be the main software provide for a New Jersey bingo site.

Search for New Jersey Bingo halls

According to the Birmingham News the county revenue department is seeking payment of the county’s two-cent tax on every dollar of sales, including nearly $6.6 million in sales taxes from 12 of the bingo halls. Amounts of sales taxes sought from the other two bingo halls were not included in court records.

With penalties and interest added to the tax bill, the bingo halls will face payment of nearly $8 million. The companies in ownership of the bingo halls have filed appeals to the Circuit Court.

The county revenue department filed the emergency tax assessments on June 3, the day before the bingo halls shut down after the district attorney in the Bessemer Cutoff warned they faced raids if they did not close.

The county has collected sales taxes in the past from bingo halls in Jefferson County, generally filing the tax notices for a budget year that starts Oct. 1 and ends Sept. 30. But the revenue department filed emergency tax notices in June because the bingo halls were about to shut down, court records show.

The city of Fairfield also has filed separate suits against seven bingo halls that had been operating there, seeking the full June payment of the monthly fee the operations pay. Employees at one shuttered bingo hall also have sued separately for back wages they contend they are owed.

The bingo debate in Alabama has been long running, since Governor Bob Riley started an anti-gambling Task Force, which he allowed to raid what he believes are illegal gambling premises.

source: Birmingham News

Littlefield Corporation has already signed an asset purchase agreement to purchase two bingo halls in an existing market.

According to the company announcement, the purchase is in addition to previously announced acquisitions. The following list shows the previous acquisitions made by Littlefield Corporation.

1. The acquisition of another bingo hall in an existing market for which the due diligence is almost complete and the closing is therefore imminent.

2. The renovation and reopening of a bingo hall in an existing market which had been previously subleased. This bingo hall will open before the end of the calendar year.

3. The acquisition of up to four bingo halls in an existing market subject to resolution of issues that are beyond the Company’s ability to control. While this is still a viable acquisition, and the Company is committed to completing it, the passage of time understandably makes the probability of a successful completion less certain.

The company also released details of its intention to expand its current bingo hall portofolio to a total of seventy five bingo halls in the next three years.

Jeffrey L. Minch, President and Chief Executive Officer of Littlefield Corporation, was delighted with the announcement and said, ” These additional halls will complement existing successful halls in the region.During the fourth quarter we plan to complete this asset purchase of two halls, conclude the asset purchase of a previously announced hall and reopen a hall currently closed for renovation. I look forward to the completion of this acquisition and would like to thank those contributing to our continued growth.”

Littlefield Corporation, headquartered in Austin, Texas, is the largest public owner of charitable bingo halls in the United States. The Company, through its corporate subsidiaries, develops, owns and operates 36 halls in Texas, South Carolina, Alabama and Florida. In Texas its corporate subsidiaries are involved as a licensed commercial lessor and only in South Carolina as a licensed promoter. Over 100 charities conduct bingo in these charitable bingo halls. (from Littlefield Corporation website)

Total bingo revenue from the third quarter of 2010 was $2.2 million, just over $3,000 shy of the company’s record revenue for the same period. Normally, the third quarter of the year is the weakest period in the year for bingo operations thanks to a traditional slow period in July and August.

Littlefield’s total gross profit was up by nearly 25 per cent on the same period last year to $585,000 – up nearly $113,000 on the same period last year. This also increased the company’s profit margin from 21 per cent to 27 per cent for quarter three.

The company also listed $275,000 worth of “notable items” from the Q3 2010 results, which were; $134,000 of expense associated with the start-up of new halls and re-openings at halls in Texas, $116,000 of legal expense for South Carolina, Florida, Texas and its Furtney litigation and $25,000 for non-cash stock-based compensation.

Results from the Q3 in 2009 (the companies best recorded performance in this period of the year) included $271,000 of notable items, including; $303,000 of expense associated with the start-up of new halls and re-openings at halls in Texas, $73,000 of legal expense for South Carolina, Florida, Texas and its Furtney litigation and $17,000 for non-cash stock-based compensation which were partially offset by a $122,000 reduction of estimated prior year reserve for incentive compensation.

source: Market Watch

The Victoryland bingo hall and dog track was closed on Monday to prevent any raid. Around 600 people are employed at the bingo hall and would lose their jobs if the anti-gambling task force has its way. Victoryland’s owners have said that they will re-open the dog track today but the bingo hall will remain closed.

The Supreme Court turned down a request from John Tyson, the commander of the anti-gambling task force, to warrant an immediate raid of the Victoryland premises. Lawmakers believe that there is no emergency that warrants an immediate raid and seizure of the bingo machines at Victoryland.

Lawyers for the bingo hall say that the next step forward for them to ask the Supreme court to reconsider the ruling that they made recently that states Tyson and his task force do not need permission from the county sheriff or district attorney to raid any bingo halls.

Over 200 people protested outside the Alabama Supreme Court on Friday. The majority of the protestors came from Greenetrack bingo hall, which has recently had all its machines seized by Governor Bob Riley’s anti-gambling task force. Representatives from other Alabama bingo facilities came to protest alongside their Greenetrack colleagues.

The protest group have the support of some important people in Alabama, including state senator Bobby Singleton, who came to the protest representing Greenetrack. He said that the bingo hall is seeking legal advice on how to pursue the matter further.

He told reporters from WAFF48 Newsthat, “We’re now waiting on the supreme court justices to appoint a judge to hear that case, and we think that once they hear that case, based on the Greenetrack amendment saying that they could play electronic bingo, that they will find out that we are legal and that it is a legal establishment.”

Governor Riley maintains that electronic bingo machines are are illegal slot machines and says that his task force are only upholding state law when they seize machines from bingo halls.

Pop’s Bingo World was given approval to open a bingo hall on Willow Pass Road, Concord, California in April 2010. However, the Concord Blue Devils bingo hall, a local rival, went to the city’s Planning Commission to lodge an official appeal against the planning approval.

Thanks to this second appeal the final decision has been further delayed and will now be made on 13th July by the City Council. The Blue Devils appeal asks that the Planning Commission undertake a full environmental study on how the new bingo hall would affect parking, traffic, crime and the provision of city services before issuing an approval.

The owners of the prospective Pop’s Bingo World argue that the building was previously used as a gym for many years, so there is plenty of evidence as to the environmental impact of using the site.

Bingo is popular in California and there are nearly 200 bingo halls in operation in the state.

All bingo halls in California must operate to raise money for charity, although bingo hall operators are allowed to be for-profit organisations which hire out their equipment and hall to charities who want to operate bingo nights.

Angry protestors  blocked the entrance to the Greenetrack bingo facility for 12 hours before being arrested. They were trying to prevent state troopers from carrying out the Alabama governor’s orders to seize 800 electronic bingo machines.

The closure of Greenetrack will see some 400 employees put out of work in a part of the state where unemployment is already hig.

Democratic state Senator Bobby Singleton of Greensboro was one of the 16 arrested and protestors included the Democratic nominee for governor. All 16 were released on a $1,000 bond.

The decision to close Greenetrack has become a huge political issue in Alabama and also has racial undertones, with black legislators identifying it is a major issue which affects a predominately black workforce.

Bob Riley, Alabama’s Republican Governor,  has stated that he believes the electronic bingo machines are in fact illegal slot machines and contravene state laws on gambling. He has been backed strongly by gambling task force commander John Tyson Jr who has helped close more than 20 bingo halls in the past two months. Only Victoryland in Macon County, which has more than 6,000 electronic bingo machines, remains open alongside the three state-endorsed Indian casinos in Alabama.

There are 34 charity bingo halls in Alabama, which are not offering electronic bingo and purely run bingo games for the purposes of raising money for local charities, which is permitted under Alabama state law.

Pop’s Bingo World was granted approval to open a bingo hall on Willow Pass Road, Concord, in April 2010 but a rival bingo hall, the Concord Blue Devils bingo hall, appealed against the approval through the city’s Planning Commission.

The Planning Commission approved the Pop’s application and the Blue Devils appealed again, meaning that the decision will now be made by the City Council on 13 July.

Their appeal claims that the city must not issue an approval without a full environmental study on how the new bingo hall would affect traffic, parking, crime and the provision of city services.

However the owners contend that because the building that the bingo hall uses was a gym for many years there is plenty of evidence of the environmental impact of using the site.

Pop’s Bingo World is the second bingo hall with that name; the other operates as a bingo hall in Richmond, Virginia. There are 197 bingo halls in California, all of which must operate to raise funds for charity, although bingo hall owners can be for-profit organisations and hire out their space and equipment to charities who want to operate bingo nights.

The bill proposed that online poker would be allowed in California with up to 20 per cent of the profits going to the state. Bill sponsor Roderick Wright cancelled the vote in the face of vehement opposition from Indian tribes with gaming interests in the state and California’s card clubs.

Wright, a California Democrat Senator for Inglewood,  said he would continue to look for ways to legalize poker in California in order to help boost the state’s empty coffers. It is widely thought that legalizing poker would be a gateway to allowing other online gambling across the USA with bingo being one of the most attractive games to allow, both because it is widely ingrained in American culture but also because of the low levels of problem gambling associated with the game.

Ironically it is the Indian casino and card clubs in California that first strongly supported the idea of online poker in the state. But when it became clear that Wright’s bill would allow Nevada companies and foreign poker operators to bid for the licence to run online poker, they switched to opposing the bill. One critic told Bingo News: “As soon as the Indian casinos and card clubs realized they may not be the beneficiaries of this bill, they immediately changed their minds. If online poker is legalized and they are not running it then there is likely to be a major negative impact on their land-based businesses.”

The Morongo Band of Mission Indians, Commerce Casino and Hollywood Park Casino were among those who were most vocal in their opposition to the bill. All agreed however that online poker in California was desirable and that they expected it to be legalized within the next three years.

Check out California’s bingo halls at California Bingo.

Alabama’s voters have spoken and they don’t want electronic bingo supporters involved in government.

Bingo operators near the city of Bessemer said they would shut down electronic bingo operations on Friday, June 4, to avoid being raided by Governor Bob Riley’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling.

The task force  was recently reactivated by a state Supreme Court ruling. The shutdown of bingo operations in Bessemer was timed to coincide with the exact moment of the task force’s reactivation.

The bingo hall is on the site of the old Velocity gym and will run charitable bingo to raise money for local charities, including the Community Youth Center and East Bay Services to the Developmentally Disabled.

Bingo will be played every night and the hall will be allowed to stay open until 1.30am on Fridays and Saturdays.

Pop’s Bingo World, which also has a bingo hall in Richmond, Virginia, is run by Chuck Lessin.

There is one other Pop’s Bingo World, in Richmond, Virginia.

The only other bingo hall in Concord is the Blue Devil bingo hall on Nelson Avenue North.

Check out California bingo hall at California Bingo

The Marina Bay Bingo Club in Richmond was opened with a fanfare of publicity on 31 March with local politicians and charities hailing the 32,000 square foot 500 person facility as great news for charitable fundraising.

But less than two months later the American Legion-sponsored club has been hit badly following revelations of the criminal past of its Commander, who has convictions for money laundering and operating a bingo permit kickback scheme in Oakland.

Post 875 Commander Eddie Welbon, 70, has served a 12 month sentence for money laundering and mail fraud. He is a preacher who has been regularly named in court documents by organisations, some of whom claimed that he has misused their name.

The city has revoke the bingo hall’s license on the grounds that it offers prizes greater than city laws permit and that it is being operated by a different organization than stated on the permit.

Marina Westshore Partners, the landlord of the building, has issued an eviction notice and is pursuing unpaid rent of $45,000 through the courts.

Find local CA bingo halls at California Bingo

A change in any legislation regarding bingo in Missouri would see bingo halls being able to open earlier, close later and be able to offer games twice per week. Previously, bingo parlors in Missouri could only have games once a week.

Since the middle of the 1990′s the number of premises licenced to hold bingo games has fallen by more than 50 per cent. It is hoped that new legislation will lead to bingo halls being more competitive with other forms of gambling entertainment, such as casinos.

One aspect of the law that will not change regarding the operation of bingo parlors in Missouri is the fact that they can only be run by charitable, religious, veteran, fraternal and service organizations.

Richelle Olson sued Cohen in June 2009, claiming Bruno was an “extreme, outrageous, offensive caricature of a gay man dressed in sexually revealing clothing with an Austrian accent” and used “vulgar and offensive language”. When she tried taking the microphone from Bruno, a “physical struggle ensued” and she was “offensively touched, pushed and battered” before falling to the ground.

She withdrew assault claims but pursued emotional damages claims for $25,000. However the court ruled against her and ordered her to pay Cohen’s $17,000 legal fees.

The bingo game scene, which was filmed at a charity game Olson ran for pensioners in Palmdale, California, was never included in the final cut of the Bruno film.

Representative Marcel Black said that he didn’t have enough votes to pass the constitutional amendment, which had only narrowly been approved in the Senate a matter of days earlier. In the Alabama House, any constitutional amendment requires 63 votes to be passed.

State Governor Bob Riley has been fervently against any form of gambling in Alabama and even set up an anti-gambling task force to raid electronic bingo halls as he believed that they were illegal. It was hoped that the bill would set up rules and regulations for bingo halls so they could be legalised and provide some income for the state coffers.

The Senate sponsor of the bill, Senator Roger Bedford, blamed the defeat on Riley’s opposition. He said defeat of the bill would help Mississippi casinos.

Electronic bingo run by Indian casinos in Alabama, which are not regulated by the state, also have benefited from the shutdown of private casinos.

Governor Riley complained that the bill did not provide a straight up vote on making electronic bingo legal or illegal. Instead Riley said the bill would have maintained the current mishmash of various local legislation, which he feels has caused confusion over what’s allowed and what’s not state-wide.

A spokesperson for one of the electronic bingo halls affected by the failure of the bill said, “It is a sad day and a travesty for so many in this state when an incredible opportunity and the people’s right to vote on the issue of electronic bingo was killed.”

The bill has already been passed by a whisker in the state Senate and now it has moved to the House for this key vote. Early predictions suggest that supporters of the bill are between three and six votes short of passing the bill.

Representative Marcel Black said that he is urging people to vote for Senator Roger Bedford’s bill that would also tax all forms of gambling in the state. He added, “As with every contentious issue, the requirement to get 63 votes for a constitutional amendment is difficult. I feel confident that at the end of the day, the House will allow the people to vote on this issue.”

A recent poll suggests that 80 per cent of voters in some state districts are keen to have the chance to vote on the bill when the state elections take place in November.

more to follow…

The robbery happened at the end of last month at Frankie’s Bingo hall in Riverdale. Police say two of the suspects entered the premises and forced employees to the ground, demanding money.

After they got the cash, the men escaped to a getaway car driven by the third man.

According to local news services, police were able to identify the three suspects because they made several trips to the business to case it in the days before the robbery.

Police took all three into custody over the course of last weekend and they are now facing a variety of charges.

According to a Justice Department official the investigation surrounding the bill to regulate and legalize electronic bingo in Alabama isn’t meant to influence the vote in the Alabama House.

Birmingham attorney Doug Jones, in a letter to Justice Department officials, expressed “grave concern” about the timing of a meeting that federal investigators had with key legislators disclosing the investigation.

The House Tourism Committee will re-assess the bill this Tuesday. The committee’s debate comes nearly two weeks after federal agents told top ranking lawmakers they found evidence of corruption in the bill.

The Senate approved a bingo bill brought forward by Sen. Roger Bedford that would allow Alabama residents to decide in November if they want to tax and regulate electronic bingo. The margin of the vote was 21-13, the minimum majority to pass the bill.

The version of the bill that passed the Senate yesterday would create a gaming commission and tax gambling in the state at a rate of 25 per cent, or maybe even higher.

The gaming commission would have five members and it would be imperative that they could not work for any sort of gambling interests for five years before or after serving on the commission; and gambling interests could not contribute to the campaigns of elected officials who appoint the commission members.

The bill must now be approved by the Alabama House of Representatives before voters are allowed a chance to make their choice. It is a step in the right direction, though, for the bingo legislation in the state.

The speaker of the house said he expects the vote to be a close one when it comes around.

State Governor Bob Riley and many other Republicans have said that Senator Bedford’s legislation is corrupt and maintain that gambling should be illegal.

After King’s announcement, two previously closed bingo halls, Country Crossing in Dothan and the White Hall in Lowndes County both announced plans to re-open in the near future. Both of the bingo halls have been closed for a month to prevent raids from the Governors task force.

The leader of the Governor’s task force, John Tyson said that he will fight King in court because Governor Riley believes that “the Attorney General is determined to protect the gambling bosses.”

Speaking about the task force at a press conference, Troy King said, “Rather than finding a path to a peaceful resolution of this issue, the actions of the task force led to the threat of an armed confrontation between law enforcement agencies so that the law enforcement family now finds itself divided into armed camps.”

The bingo battle should now be resolved in court in a confrontation between the attorney general and Gov. Bob Riley. Riley and Tyson argue that electronic bingo machines are illegal slot machines, while King said that the legality of the bingo machines should be determined by several court cases he intends to bring.

As with many of the previous stories of a similar nature, a local judge issued a temporary restraining order, ruling that the Governor’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling could not raid the venue.

However, John Tyson, a director of the Task Force said that all electronic bingo machines are illegal and that his organization would enforce the law.

State Governor Bob Riley said that he opposes a statewide voter referendum on bingo legality later this year.A referendum could allow slot-type gambling businesses to operate statewide, said the Governor.

High-profile political activist Rev. Jesse Jackson visited Montgomery and said Riley’s aggressive way of closing electronic bingo halls was “very provocative and dangerous.” Jackson added that he thought the bingo issue could be solved in court without the need for aggressive tactics.

Gov. Bob Riley issued a statement on Monday afternoon criticising a ruling made earlier in the day from Jefferson Co. Judge Robert Vance who ruled Attorney General Troy King has the authority to takeover the task force and court cases involving electronic bingo in Alabama courts.

Riley said, “Judge Vance has clearly exceeded his authority in legislating from the bench.” Judge Vance ruled the attorney general has not followed his constitutional duties to defend the state’s interests in these cases.

“While complaining of the Governor’s actions in the Supreme Court, and in the media, the Attorney General has made no effort to defend the State’s interest in these cases. He under a duty to do so,” said Judge Vance.

Mark White, the attorney for Victoryland casino proprietor Milton McGregor, welcomed the judge’s order. “It is unprecedented in this state for the governor to be able create a political police force such as his anti-gambling task force.” he said.Attorney General Troy King questioned the authority of the Governor’s Task Force to shut down bingo halls in many counties in Alabama.

“The recklessness of the task force have gone about it’s work, has lead us to the point we have some bingo halls closed some bingo halls open.” King said.

King believes that the ultimate decision on electronic bingo halls in the state needs to come from Alabama voters.

“I don’t understand why the opinion of a politician in Montgomery should matter more than the opinion of four million regular citizens who pay taxes and want to see the issue resolved,” he concluded.

It is likely that the Governor and Attorney General will meet sometime this week to discuss the issue.

It was revealed in tax returns that he won $1.5million at various casinos between 2006 and 2008, but Mr. Langford says he lost at least that amount. On one day in 2008 he won 36 jackpots worth $96,000 at VictoryLand, owned by Milton McGregor.

The ex-mayor was removed from his office when it was discovered he had accepted cash and gifts worth upwards of a quarter of a million dollars from a Montgomery based investment banker in exchange for directing lucrative sewer bond to the banker’s firm. Langford is due to be sentenced on Friday.

Prosecutors in the case recently filed papers that he be sent to prison for at least 24 years for his offences. Assistant U.S. Attorney James E. Phillips is recommending that the 63-year-old get from 24 to 30 years, partly because of his “blatant and hostile failure to accept responsibility” for his crimes.

The tax returns were published for separate civil cases, which claims that VictoryLand and Greenetrack casinos rigged their electronic bingo machines to let Mr Langford win.

The Alabama senate has blocked two bills that would have re-opened some recently closed electronic bingo halls in the state. The bills, if approved by the senate, would have allowed for a public vote on the future of bingo in Alabama.

Senator Bedford had asked local lawmakers to approve a bill and pass a constitutional amendment to tax and regulate electronic bingo rather than outlawing it completely. He had hoped that voters would be able to vote on the bingo issue in the General election on November 2nd.

A senator who voted against the bills, Ben Brooks, said that he thought the bill was “corrupt”. This was follwed by Governor Bob Riley, who said, “clearly a lot of senators understand just how crooked this bill is now that they’ve had a chance to review it. This bill isn’t about gambling. It isn’t about letting the people vote. It’s about pure, unadulterated corruption and legalizing a no-bid casino monopoly for a few politically-connected gambling bosses.”

Senators voted in favour of the bills by 19-16 but fell short of the 21 votes required to approve an amendment to the constitution. Proponents of the bill will have to go back to the drawing board if they are to gain approval from more senators next time. If there is a next time.