The anti-gambling crusade headed by Alabama governor Bob Riley has become by far the most contentious topic ahead of this year’s gubernatorial race, but calls to settle the issue with a referendum are meeting with strong resistance.

Alabama’s attorney general has called for a referendum on whether the state should definitively legalize electronic bingo gaming after a federal judge – and Alabama Gov. Bob Riley – suggested that existing operations may be illegal under state law.

Alabama Governor Bob Riley’s quest to banish electronic bingo machines from the state may face an uphill battle, after an aggressive pushback by gambling operators and nagging legal questions over the crackdown’s legality.

As Governor Bob Riley’s anti-gambling crackdown intensifies and continues to threaten the state’s many bingo halls, industry leaders have called upon Alabama state lawmakers to respond with a legislative fix.

A bill that would have expanded gambling across the state will not be voted on this session, after support for the measure faded.

Alabama’s Attorney General Troy King has filed a lawsuit to prevent the US Department of the Interior (DOI) from ordering Alabama to negotiate with an Indian tribe over a deal that would bring video gaming machines to tribal gambling facilities in the state. The suit claims that forcing Alabama to negotiate with tribal gambling interests violates fundamental states’ rights but, according to one expert, the precise legal situation is unclear.

Prominent Indian gaming interests are urging state politicians to resist a legislative push to allow Californian charities to receive a second opportunity to seek compensation in return for shutting off electronic bingo machines, while charities’ legal and political challenges to an earlier court order show no sign of dwindling.

A handful of dingy bingo parlours operating in California are riling tribal casinos, provoking two legal battles and stirring worries about potential multi-million dollar consequences for state budget coffers.

Greentrack in Eutaw, Alabama is continuing to operate video bingo machines despite an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that video lottery machines are illegal.

Beset by the global financial crisis and increasing competition in neighboring states, Mississippi posted the lowest state wide casino revenues since 1998.