County Looks to Electronic Bingo for Revenue

County Commission Chairman Lynn Sasser said Friday the county must find new revenue somewhere, and bingo might have been the answer.

Asked if the county had considered electronic bingo as a means of possible revenue, Sasser said it is not an option now.

“We had it in mind with that 565 amendment and we were thinking about ways to help this county, but not now,” Sasser said.

In March, the commission unanimously approved a resolution asking House Speaker Seth Hammett (D-Andalusia) and Sen. Jimmy Holley (R-Elba) to repeal one of two Alabama laws that affect gaming in Covington County. If House Bill 821 had passed in the legislature this year, it would have repealed legislation from 1993 that sets rules for charitable bingo in Covington County.

Once those rules were repealed, the only governing legislation for charitable bingo in Covington County would be Constitutional Amendment 565, approved by statewide vote in 1994. That amendment gives the county commission the authority to “promulgate rules and regulations for issuing permits or licenses and for operating bingo games within the county.”

For the complete story, please see Michele Gerlach, Could bingo save county?, Andalusia Star-News, May 1, 2009.