Bentley Suggested Strange Impeach Officials He Suspected Were Not Doing Their Local Duties
Alabama Governor Robert Bentley sent a letter to the state’s attorney general this week, saying the state government has limited resources to police illegal gambling. Gov. Bentley sent the letter on January 13 to Attorney General Luther Strange, telling the Alabama AG that the primary duty under the law should be assumed by local law enforcement personnel.
In an earlier memo, Strange had told the local law enforcement and district attorneys that the state police would be a “valuable resource” in trying to shut down banned gambling operations.
In the memo, the Attorney General said he expected the state troopers to enforce gambling laws. Strange also suggested the county officials should enforce those same gaming laws.
Luther Strange Wanted Troopers Involved
Under the directions of Luther Strange, state troopers apparently would help the local sheriff’s departments and district attorneys’ offices in finding and raiding illegal gaming operations. Such a commitment would require a significant number of resources in man-hours, because such enforcement requires information to proceed. Sheriff’s deputies have to learn where an operation is, then investigate the activities going on in the establishment. Such activities require a great deal more time and effort than a simple raid.
It is uncertain exactly what activities Luther Strange was suggestion the DPS get involved in, whether it was in investigations themselves, or simply the raids. Either way, Governor Bentley does not like the use of state employees, whose main job is making certain the highways of the state are safe.
Bentley Suggests Impeachment
Governor Bentley took a different stance. Bentley told the attorney general that, instead of sending state troopers to do the duty of local officials, he should consider impeachment proceedings against county and city officials who were failing to enforce state laws.
The focus of the confusion centers around the Alabama AG’s four-year campaign to shut down electronic bingo operations in the state. Strange has taken multiple court actions against illegal bingo parlor operators, but he would like to step up efforts to enforce those laws.
Alabama Gaming Law Is Vague
One problem Alabama officials face enforcing the state’s gaming laws is the vague nature of the legislation. Alabama has one of the strictest set of gaming laws in the United States, exceeded only by the two state’s with a 100% ban on gambling: Utah and Hawaii.
In an attempt to ban all permutations of particular offending games of chance, Alabama’s former legislators wrote vague laws which could cover many forms of gambling. In fact, many activities which Americans in other part of the USA wouldn’t consider gambling or “games of chance”, are considered illegal in Alabama.
Horse and Dog Racing – Indian Casinos
In Alabama, the only legal forms of gambling are horse racing, dog racing, and a limited number of games operated in Native American casinos. Poker is not considered a game of skill, but is considered strictly a game of chance and therefore banned. Online gambling certainly is banned.
Older Gaming Laws
Gambling laws in the state were written mainly in 1975, so online gambling is not addressed in great detail. The laws simply are written without Internet gaming in mind, though alterations and modifications have been written to make certain operators know the practice is outlawed. Online gambling is simply seen as no different from offline gambling.
For that reason, both players and operators who engage in online casino gambling inside the state could be seen as lawbreakers. In most states, playing at an online casino for real money is not criminalized, even when it is illegal for a gaming operators to offer real money games. No prosecutions have ever taken place involving Alabama citizens engaged in online gambling, but that does not mean such activity won’t be prosecuted in the future. Alabama gamblers should keep in mind the strict nature of gaming laws in Alabama.
About Robert Bentley
Robert Bentley is the current Republican governor of Alabama. Bentley was elected to office in November 2010 and has served alongside Attorney General Strange since January 2011.
Before becoming governor, Bentley served two terms as an Alabama State Representative, from 2002 to 2010. Before that time, he was a licensed medical doctor for the previous several decades. He opened a variety of dermatology clinics throughout the American southeast during that time. Robert Bentley spent time in the U.S. Air Force from 1969 to 1975, where he served as a general medical officer and attained the rank of captain.
