CHEYENNE, Wyo. - No criminal charges have been filed in the breakup of electronic bingo halls in several Wyoming counties, but further court action is expected against at least some of them, authorities said Monday.

Officials have seized dozens of e-bingo machines and, in some cases, ordered the closures of video bingo halls in recent weeks amid uncertainty surrounding the game's legality.

No criminal charges have surfaced, but officials in Platte County planned to file forfeiture petitions this week against two operations shut down in Wheatland and Guernsey recently.

Authorities seized 21 video bingo machines late last month from Fast Action Bingo halls. A hearing on forfeitures of the machines and other items is expected in coming months, Platte County Attorney Eric Alden said.

"Based on the law as it is now, it's very clear that this is not bingo. … The reality is they're trying to make a slot machine look like bingo and say 'Oh, this is now legal because it's bingo,' " he said.

State law prohibits casino gambling, but nonprofit and charitable groups running bingo operations have been exempt from the statute.

Opponents argue that video bingo halls donate only a fraction of their profits to charities, and that most money is split among for-profit management companies or paid out to customers.

"In my individual opinion, there is absolutely no confusion that for-profit corporations cannot be running even traditional bingo games," Alden said. "That's what every one of these cases is in our county is, for-profit corporations running them and giving a small fraction of their profits to a charity."

Video bingo operators argue they qualify as nonprofit or charitable groups. At least two companies with ties to the industry have filed a lawsuit asking for clarification of the state statute, particularly what it defines as bingo.

The state has asked that the lawsuit be dismissed.

Dallas Laird, a Casper-based attorney representing Fast Action bingo parlors in Platte and several other counties, said his clients will decide in coming weeks whether to join the lawsuit or file their own.

"This is affecting the people who are working for these nonprofit and charitable organizations, absolutely," he said.