{"id":329402,"date":"2024-09-02T18:13:33","date_gmt":"2024-09-02T23:13:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=329402"},"modified":"2024-09-02T18:13:33","modified_gmt":"2024-09-02T23:13:33","slug":"seized-illegal-alabama-gaming-machines-vanish-resurface-in-new-bingo-hall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/seized-illegal-alabama-gaming-machines-vanish-resurface-in-new-bingo-hall\/","title":{"rendered":"Seized Illegal Alabama Gaming Machines Vanish, Resurface in New Bingo Hall"},"content":{"rendered":"

Authorities in Alabama were surprised when illegal electronic bingo machines impounded during raids<\/a> on a bingo hall in the city of Selma went missing. They were even more surprised when the machines turned up at a different gaming venue in a different county.<\/p>\n

\"Alabama
Alabama AG Steve Marshall, above, a longtime opponent of electronic bingo in the state. His agents recognized the missing machines because they still had evidence stickers on them from the previous raid. (Image: 1819News\/Casino.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Alabama Attorney General\u2019s Office has now charged five men with stealing the machines after they were found last week in Jay\u2019s Charity Bingo in the city of Lipscomb, more than 80 miles north of Selma.<\/p>\n

The terminals disappeared from the backroom of Selma Charity Bingo after the Attorney General\u2019s Office conducted a raid last month and served a temporary restraining order on the business. The machines remained at the Selma venue while authorities waited to obtain a seizure order.<\/p>\n

Brazen Theft<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall told AL.com<\/em> his agents knew they had found the missing machines when they raided the business in Lipscomb because they still had the evidence stickers on them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe brazen nature of stealing something that has an evidence sticker on it just shows you how far some of these people will go,\u201d Marshall marveled.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Marshall said his office received a report from Dallas County\u2019s Sheriff\u2019s Department, which covers Selma, that the machines were missing. It\u2019s unclear how they were traced to Jay\u2019s Charity Bingo.<\/p>\n

The businesses are not believed to be connected. It\u2019s likely the thieves realized the machines would be locked up in the shuttered Selma Charity Bingo because they had read about the temporary restraining order in the news.<\/p>\n

The vehicle in which we shut these businesses down was through a civil order enjoining the business from operating while we prove through litigation that those in fact are gambling machines,\u201d Marshall told AL.com<\/em>. \u201cIn essence, it\u2019s not the historic go in and raid and seize the machines and carry them off,\u201d he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Court records show that Charles Allen Robinson, 52, Charles Vanderford Jr., 61, Eric Daniel Hurt, 39, Michael Ray, 56, and William Patrick Humphries are all charged with third-degree burglary in the case.<\/p>\n

Marshall said it was ironic that the suspects are facing a felony charge while the owners of Selma Charity Bingo will only be charged with a misdemeanor.<\/p>\n

Legal Battles <\/strong><\/h2>\n

The legality of electronic bingo machines was the cause of years of legal disputes in Alabama. Operators said the machines conformed to the state\u2019s bingo laws while aping the look and feel of Vegas-style slots.<\/p>\n

The matter was settled in October 2022, when the state\u2019s Supreme Court determined<\/a> that only traditional bingo games were legal.<\/p>\n

Marshall, who had long seen the machines as \u201ca\u00a0menace to public health, morals, safety, and welfare,\u201d began enforcing the prohibition shortly after. Multiple gaming halls offering illegal gambling were shut down on the same day as Selma Charity Bingo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Authorities in Alabama were surprised when illegal electronic bingo machines impounded during raids on a bingo hall in the city of Selma went missing. They were even more surprised when the machines turned up at a different gaming venue in a different county. The Alabama Attorney General\u2019s Office has now charged five men with stealing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":329403,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,88702,86436],"tags":[92202,92199,92201,92200,88975],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSeized Illegal Alabama Gaming Machines Vanish, Resurface in New Bingo Hall<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Electronic bingo machines impounded at Selma Electronic bingo by Alabama Attorney General\u2019s Office turn up at Jay\u2019s Charity Bingo.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/seized-illegal-alabama-gaming-machines-vanish-resurface-in-new-bingo-hall\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Seized Illegal Alabama Gaming Machines Vanish, Resurface in New Bingo Hall\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Electronic bingo machines impounded at Selma Electronic bingo by Alabama Attorney General\u2019s Office turn up at Jay\u2019s Charity Bingo.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/seized-illegal-alabama-gaming-machines-vanish-resurface-in-new-bingo-hall\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-09-02T23:13:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/bingo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1149\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"758\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/seized-illegal-alabama-gaming-machines-vanish-resurface-in-new-bingo-hall\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/seized-illegal-alabama-gaming-machines-vanish-resurface-in-new-bingo-hall\/\",\"name\":\"Seized Illegal Alabama Gaming Machines Vanish, Resurface in New Bingo Hall\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/seized-illegal-alabama-gaming-machines-vanish-resurface-in-new-bingo-hall\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/seized-illegal-alabama-gaming-machines-vanish-resurface-in-new-bingo-hall\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/bingo.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-02T23:13:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-02T23:13:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Electronic bingo machines impounded at Selma Electronic bingo by Alabama Attorney General\u2019s Office turn up at Jay\u2019s Charity Bingo.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/seized-illegal-alabama-gaming-machines-vanish-resurface-in-new-bingo-hall\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/seized-illegal-alabama-gaming-machines-vanish-resurface-in-new-bingo-hall\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/seized-illegal-alabama-gaming-machines-vanish-resurface-in-new-bingo-hall\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/bingo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/bingo.jpg\",\"width\":1149,\"height\":758,\"caption\":\"Alabama AG Steve Marshall, above, a longtime opponent of electronic bingo in the state. 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