60 Instant Bingo Machines Seized From Hall

Rowe wrote that instant bingo machines loaded with preprinted tickets displaying winning or losing combinations are legal under some circumstances. Theoretically, she wrote, the preprinted tickets could be removed from the machine and sold manually.

The same cannot be said, she wrote, of machines that contain a computer chip with preprogrammed outcomes to be printed at the time of play. Rowe concluded that those "cartridge machines" are illegal.

Breslo said yesterday that all the machines at the bingo hall used preprinted cards.

Although state law says a nonprofit organization can operate no more than five gaming devices on a daily basis, Breslo said he considers the number at the bingo hall within the law. "I am confident that on the number of machines issue, we are compliant," he said.

In some situations, St. Mary's has long permitted gaming devices if the proceeds go to a nonprofit organization. Since last year, when the devices began to appear in large numbers, some local volunteer fire departments, churches and other groups were buoyed by the funding. The bingo hall is rented mainly to local Catholic schools and churches for fundraisers.

In this year's legislative session, lawmakers passed a bill that would ban all instant bingo machines. Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) has said he will sign the bill, which would take effect July 1.

Richard Wolf, a spokesman for the FBI in Baltimore, said Cameron's office had contacted the FBI for assistance. He said it was possible authorities in St. Mary's simply needed more manpower.