Electronic bingo bill dropped by state senator

To avoid a heavyweight political fight, a famous Senate Democrat had dropped the legislation that would have made electronic bingo for charities and non profit organizations legal.

 

It was state Sen. Darrell Steinberg, the incoming leader of the state who had moved along with his legislation, in spite of all the opposition he faced from the state’s gaming tribes. He had reconsidered the matter after a lower court ruling had protected bingo machines that helped generate more than $100,000 a year for the local charity, WIND Youth Services that had requested for the bingo bill to be carried.

 

With the SB 1626 bill, electronic bingo cards would have been legalized like the cards that are played in some types of bingo machines. In fact, this measure was planned to have its first committee hearing on Tuesday.

 

According to tribes, bingo machines violate the monopoly on slot machines and other electronic gaming devices which are guaranteed in their state gambling agreements. A tribal lawyer warned that any breach in the monopoly would lead to the suspension of hundreds of millions of dollars in a year in the form of payments to the state.

 

However representatives of the WIND that runs a shelter for homeless children were not reached for their comments. However another charity’s president that depends on the same machines was disappointed with the move.

 

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