Owner Of Alabama’s Victoryland Looks To Lawmakers To Help Resurrect Business

The owner of Victoryland On line casino in Shorter, Alabama hopes lawmakers will legalize chunky-scale casinos. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Ancient horse racing machines pay the bills

Dr. Lewis Benefield, president and CEO of Victoryland On line casino and the Birmingham Drag Direction, hopes to resurrect live greyhound racing and fully reopen Victoryland to document numbers. However the proposed resurrection is unlikely unless unusual legislation to enable chunky-scale casinos could well also merely additionally be accredited. For the time being, Benefield hopes that the similarity of historical horse racing machines to slots could be sufficient to defend his companies working.

horses are identified by numbers in its establish of names

Correct as with slots, making a bet with historical horse racing machines can derive as rapid as merely inserting money and hitting play, however there’s a slower methodology that lets in avid gamers the pleasure they’d rating at live horse racing, which is to handicap the races primarily based on supplied files of how the horses performed in prior races. To attend avid gamers from researching outcomes, the horses are identified by numbers in its establish of names.

This is able to well be a successful mixture, however sadly, the legality of historical horse racing machines remains questionable.

Are the video games actual?

Per prior actual opinions issued by Alabama attorneys overall and the approval of the racing commissions in Jefferson and Macon counties, Benefield believes historical horse racing machines pass actual muster. Benefield stated: “I know regulation enforcement is successfully versed on what I’m doing, and I’ve by no methodology been questioned that what I turn into as soon as doing turn into as soon as now now not following the regulation.”

In 2019, Criminal professional Overall Steve Marshall, relating to the outdated AG opinions issued in 2001 and 2009, stated: “If the unusual machines supplied at the Birmingham Drag Direction are in compliance with these opinions, then they are presumably actual. If they are now now not, then the opinions will offer no defense to a violation of the regulation.”

Casinos nearly accredited by legislature

The approval could well even possess been the 1st step in propelling a bevy of customers now now not upright to Victoryland, however to all different greyhound racing tracks in Alabama. As reported by Mike Cason, a journalist for AL.com: “In February, the Alabama Dwelling of Representatives accredited an ambitious thought that will well possess allowed, with voter approval, chunky-scale casinos in the counties with the four broken-down greyhound tracks.”

the bill moved forward to the Senate, where it fell quick by upright one vote

The bill turn into as soon as backed by the Republican management in the Dwelling, as successfully as by Governor Kay Ivey. After Dwelling approval, the bill moved forward to the Senate, where it fell quick by upright one vote. The bill’s failure marks a fight by Alabama lawmakers for over two a long time to amplify gambling operations all the plan through Alabama.

Benefield stated: “The gambling scenario in Alabama could well also merely additionally be solved.”

With any success, the legislature will strive as soon as more in 2025 and this time verbalize a gambling bundle that passes each and each the Dwelling and Senate.