Bingo Losers Sue to Get Money Back

(CANVAS STAFF REPORTS) - A pair of Alabama bingo players hope to win a jackpot in court.

Ozetta Hardy and Shirley Wallace are suing to get back the money they lost playing electronic machines at a bingo hall in Lowndes County, The Birmingham News reported .

The women filed the lawsuit last month against Whitehall Gaming Center contending they and others who lost money at the center should be repaid because the bingo hall was never a legal operation, the paper reported.

The women are seeking to get their money back through a 158-year-old state law that says betters should be repaid within six months of their wagers. The newspaper did not report how much money the bingo losers are seeking to recover.

The bingo hall voluntarily closed earlier this year amid ongoing disputes over whether electronic bingo is legal in Alabama.

The Alabama senate in April blocked two bills, which would have reopened closed electronic bingo casinos and increased gambling in the state.

For the past two years, Alabama Gov. Bob Riley has waged an aggressive campaign to stop the spread of electronic bingo machines across the state , arguing that they are essentially illegal slot machines.

Gambling on games of chance is illegal under the Alabama constitution, but paper bingo has been around for decades.