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Posted by Gabriel Tynes | Mar 8, 2022 | Latest | 0 |
As promised, State Sen. Greg Albritton unveiled the Alabama Legislature’s latest attempt at comprehensive gambling bills Friday, March 4. Similar to a previous proposal that died in the House of Representatives last year, Albritton’s pair of bills seek a constitutional amendment providing for “the limited authorization of gambling in the state to be supervised and regulated by a new Alabama Education Lottery Commission.”
The amendment would establish the “Alabama Education Lottery” and would also allow “casino-style games, sports betting, bingo and raffles,” regulated by the commission. Licensed casinos would be limited to five locations in the state including the Mobile Greyhound Track, while a compact between the state and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians would also expand gaming on native land.
The bill would impose a tax of 20 percent on net revenues for casinos and sports betting, revenues that would be shared with cities and counties for capital needs. Proceeds from the lottery would establish a scholarship “to support educational attainment or fulfillment of the state’s workforce needs.”
The constitutional amendment would require a ballot initiative, and casinos, sports betting and the lottery would be on the ballot under one initiative rather than allowing voters to consider each individually.
Albritton opened a press conference Friday by claiming he is working from the premise “that not only is gaming alive and well, but is already rampant in the state.” He pointed to existing facilities in Greene and Jefferson counties, as well as sports betting online.
“This is an industry that needs to be regulated by the state, this is an industry that is running rampant in the state,” Albritton said. “Alabama has no control over any of these activities or benefits from these activities yet we’re suffering the consequences of it.”
Some 20 local constitutional amendments govern the scattered existing gaming operations in the state, he said, but those offer little accountability or guidance.
“These two bills provide for a strong gaming commission that will regulate, control, cap and tax all the existing entities out there … right away,” he said, noting the commission’s duties exist separate from the constitutional amendment, and if the law is passed, the commission can begin collecting tax from existing operations before a ballot measure is even considered.
Albritton did not disclose specific revenue projections, but in 2020, Gov. Kay Ivey’s Study Group on Gambling Policy suggested the expansion of gaming in the state could generate between $300 million and $400 million annually, while the lottery could generate another $200 million to $300 million. Albritton said today, it could be upwards of $800 million total.
The bills require a three-fifths supermajority in the Legislature to pass, meaning support will be needed across the aisle. Although polls suggest most Alabamians are supportive of expanded gaming, the issue is not without controversy. Although it’s been the focus of proposed legislation for the better part of two decades, lawmakers have been unable to agree. But Albritton said he is hopeful his bills will eventually find consensus.
“There’s going to be controversies and challenges involved with this,” he said. “There are enemies against this plan. I suggest we will have amendments to this both in committee and on the floor, and the House will do the same. But I believe we have a product and a vehicle — and we’ve done this enough times — that we can put a package together that will benefit the state.”
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Gabriel Tynes joined Lagniappe in January 2012. A native of coastal Alabama, he has been recognized for excellence by press associations in Florida and Alabama, as well as the Society of Professional Journalists. He is a CMCJ/H.F. Guggenheim Journalism Fellow and the 2021 winner of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia’s David Carr Award for investigative journalism.
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