A Metro Council committee Wednesday decided against a proposal by Councilman Darrell Ourso to outlaw video bingo machines in East Baton Rouge Parish.

By a 3-1 vote with only Ourso objecting, the Finance and Executive Committee recommended that the full council delete from the agenda for March 14 Ourso’s proposed video bingo ban.

Faced with opposition from three bingo operations and charities that benefit from the games, Ourso tried unsuccessfully to get the committee to defer the issue for 30 days so he could work with the bingo industry.

Council member Lorri Burgess said she didn’t understand why Ourso was trying to outlaw something that has been legally operating in the parish since the early 1990s.

“If the bingo halls are following the law, why are we here talking about this (ban)?” Burgess asked Wednesday.

One of the three bingo halls is not yet open, but Thomas Parsons told the committee he’s obtained a license and spent $400,000 to buy 35 video bingo machines for an operation at the Scotlandville American Legion.

“These machines are not something that are going to go into every bar room. They’re strictly for bingo operations,” Parsons told the committee.

In a memo to his fellow council members, Ourso noted that the video bingo machines are very similar to video poker machines that were allowed in bars and restaurants until parish voters outlawed them nearly 10 years ago.

“Simply put, these video bingo parlors are nothing more than a land-based casino, a truck-stop casino without a gas pump!” Ourso wrote in his memo. “One restaurant owner called to ask if we could consider allowing video poker since we essentially have the same with video bingo!”

Ourso acknowledged that his ban was aimed mainly at Bayou Bingo, a new bingo parlor at George O’Neal and Jones Creek roads that features 35 of the latest machines.

Bayou Bingo owner Bryan Bush III said his hall’s new video bingo machines are basically the same as the old ones, except with updated graphics.

The third hall, the Bingo Center near the intersection of Airline Highway and McClelland Street, operates only 12 video bingo machines.

Bingo Center spokesman Richard Brown said his nonprofit hall allows people to play video bingo only during regular bingo sessions.

“We’re there to play bingo,” Brown said.

Council members who voted to delete Ourso’s video bingo ban from the agenda were Burgess, Wayne Carter and Byron Sharper.