Walt Maddox, the Democratic candidate for Alabama governor, has based his campaign on establishing a state lottery to raise much-needed funds for the state, which ranks last in the U.S. in taxes. “We have to acknowledge in the past year, Mississippi has taken huge steps to outpace us. Just in the last year, they decided to tackle the issue of sports gaming and use those new revenues to invest back into their state. They are tackling the issue of lottery, which they are going to use those proceeds to invest back into the state. So they’ve done two things we’ve been unable to do and they’re going to do that to move Mississippi forward,” Maddox said.
His opponent, Republican Governor Kay Ivey, running for her first full term, has said little regarding a lottery or sports betting. “I put my emphasis on putting people back to work and giving them a good job they can depend on. There’s an old philosophy that says, ‘I never fund an essential service of government with a non-essential source of funding.’ So gambling of whatever nature is an up-and-down kind of thing. It’s not very predictable.”
Ivey added, “Right now, the economy is robust and budgets are doing quite well. So I think it gives us a little time that if we’re going to have a lottery, let’s get it right.”
But Maddox, the mayor of Tuscaloosa, said there’s no time to wait. He said the Republican governor and legislature have failed to address the state’s financial issues which could be solved with a lottery. “I think that screams that we need new leadership in Montgomery. The current leadership, quite frankly, is satisfied with the past. If you think about it, the first policy proposal that my opponent put forward in this election was confederate monuments. That is definitely the past. This election, it has never been clearer, is about the future of the state.”
A study last year by the nonpartisan Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama indicated the state ranked last in the U.S. on per capita tax collections. Specifically, the PARCA study said, Alabama is last in property taxes. “Alabama’s state and local governments collect less in taxes than state and local governments in any other state in the union. This has been a basic fact of life in this state since the early the 1990s. It lies at the root of our perpetual struggles to balance state budgets. It underlies the difficulties we face when trying to provide to our citizens the level of government services enjoyed by citizens in other states,” the study said.
State Rep. Mac McCutcheon said he expects lottery legislation to be introduced in the next session which starts in March. At the moment, however, he said, “As far as I am aware, no lottery bills have been drafted, pre-filed or even discussed in any detail among members. And any effort to come forward with a lottery bill in the House would not be led by the leadership, which obviously includes me.”
A lottery bill must pass legislature with at least a 60 percent vote. After that, it would be placed on the ballot as a constitutional amendment to be voted on statewide. Opponents would include religious conservatives and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians which operates three casinos in the state.
Alabama Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh said, “I think what the governor has to determine is whether or not she think it’s worth the voters having a vote on it. I think what role the governor would have would be if they are openly supportive of the issue—the bully pulpit, if you will. If it’s a bill that’s constructed fairly and everybody feels comfortable with it, what you may get from the governor is, hey, it’s time for the people to make this decision.”
Marsh sponsored a lottery bill in 2015. Then a study by Auburn University-Montgomery found that a lottery could generate $340 million annually for the state. That number likely would be lower since Mississippi now has its own lottery and its residents would not be crossing into Alabama to purchase tickets. Only four other states besides Alabama do not have a state lottery.
Maddox said he also supports sports betting, estimating it could generate $125-150 million or more per year for the state. “I think ultimately, the whole issue of gaming will become one issue,” Maddox said. Like a lottery, sports betting would require a statewide referendum for approval.
Meanwhile there’s no consensus regarding a lottery or sports betting among lawmakers. “Not at this point. It’s too early to make a statement from a leadership standpoint. We don’t have a bill in front of us and then start the discussion,” McCutcheon noted. Marsh also pointed out it’s too soon to consider bills for the 2019 session since the entire legislature is up for re-election in November. “I don’t know what may happen. I would assume that somebody is going to pursue something dealing with both the lottery and sports betting in the next session,” Marsh said.
Maddox said if he defeats Ivey in November, he’ll call a special session of the legislature to immediately address gambling issues. “Our goal is to settle the issue of gambling from lottery to sports gaming to where we already have it existing in Alabama once and for all. And let’s use that roughly $400-500 million new dollars to enhance education. To finally fund our services in the general fund, such as mental health, corrections, state troopers and other central services of the state.”
