Martin: Betting on a football game
Since he won his bet with Florida Gov. Charlie Crist on the SEC Championship Game, Gov. Bob Riley isn’t technically “welching” on the wager by attempting to refuse the Florida oranges he won. After all, to “welch” is defined by most dictionaries as “to fail or refuse to pay what is owed” and not to refuse to accept what you won.
Nonetheless, our governor is now trying to rewind the tape so that he won’t be guilty of violating Alabama law. But much more embarrassing than that, so he won’t be guilty of being a…what’s that word?…hypocrite.
No one seriously believes any law-abiding prosecutor in Alabama will try to prosecute the state’s chief executive on a misdemeanor gambling charge for standing up for his state and his alma mater in taking on the University of Florida.
Nonetheless, what he did appears to be illegal under Alabama law. Here are a few of the operative code sections:
1. “A person engages in gambling if he stakes or risks something of value upon the outcome of a contest of chance or a future contingent event not under his control or influence, upon an agreement or understanding that he or someone else will receive something of value in the event of a certain outcome.”
2. “A person commits the crime of promoting gambling if he knowingly advances or profits from unlawful gambling activity other than as a player. Promoting gambling is a Class A misdemeanor.”
3. “A person commits the crime of simple gambling if he knowingly advances or profits from unlawful gambling activity as a player.”
It is a defense to a prosecution under this section that a person charged with being a player was engaged in a social game in a private place. The burden of injecting the issue is on the defendant, but this does not shift the burden of proof. It is instructive to remember the governor, proud of his wager back then, announced it via a press release. Simple gambling is a Class C misdemeanor.
I am certain these indiscretions, if any, will be looked at with “a wink and a nod” by state and local prosecutors.
But with regard to the charge of hypocrisy, well, that’s a different story. The governor, who struts about the state attempting to eradicate bingo as the sin-of-all-sins, makes a wager clearly illegal, even at the bingo halls.
There has been a lot of talk lately that Gov. Riley received millions in campaign contributions back in 2002 from Mississippi gaming interests in order to provide those people an advantage by eliminating the ability of Alabamians to wager in their own state. Now there is talk of his close associates becoming involved with people in the global gaming community.
I don’t know if that is true, but I do know that the governor has failed to take advantage of an easy source of public revenue in these tenuous economic times for our state and local governments by refusing to negotiate compacts with the Alabama Indian tribes for the state to receive a portion of their profits, something he has the authority to do. On the other hand, he is threatening and harassing legal bingo operations in the state rather than helping them to expand and provide needed economic growth and taxes to local communities and the state.
In the end the governor’s legacy will be determined, not by rhetoric today, but by what is discovered when he goes back to the farm in Clay County.
Heisman winner
Alabama running back Mark Ingram has won this year’s Heisman Trophy, but Auburn still leads their cross-state rival with two, awarded to Pat Sullivan and Bo Jackson. The award carries the name of a former Auburn coach, John Heisman.
Bob Martin is editor and publisher of The Montgomery Independent. Email him at: [email protected]
