The Alabama Senate recently delayed voting on legislation to allow a statewide lottery after the sponsor, state Senator Jim McClendon, felt he didn’t have enough votes to pass the bill and asked for it to be carried over to another day. McClendon said the bill faced a filibuster as well as the possibility of being amended to authorize casinos in the state. McClendon said, “It was cutting too close. If you lose the vote, it’s over, it’s gone.” The Senate could take up the legislation again later this session.
The bill would authorize a lottery with tickets sold at stores, kiosks and through a phone app. McClendon said, “I want a lottery. The people in my district want a lottery. Ideally, I would have a simple, straightforward lottery bill, but if it requires something more complex than that in order to get a lottery bill, I will certainly entertain the thought.”
The Senate did approve a second bill that would establish a framework for a possible Alabama lottery and how revenue would be distributed. However, the measure is irrelevant unless the proposed constitutional amendment authorizing the lottery is approved.
Earlier in the session, senators narrowly rejected a proposal by state Senator Del Marsh that would have allowed a state lottery and up to 10 casinos in the state. After McClendon pulled the measure, Marsh said McClendon was “far short” of the votes required to break a filibuster on the lottery bill. “In my opinion it’s going to be near impossible to get a vote on a straight lottery bill. I think you are going to have to have a comprehensive bill,” Marsh said. Any gambling proposal would have to be approved by three-fifths of lawmakers in both chambers plus a majority of state voters.
State Senator Greg Albritton commented, “I would suggest that what we need to look at is a means of controlling gaming, not expanding it.”
Alabama is one of five states without a state lottery. McClendon said, “I sure have heard from many, many, many people that just want to be able to vote on a lottery. Gian Maiola, spokeswoman for Governor Kay Ivey stated, “It is clear that the people of Alabama want the opportunity to vote on the issue of gaming one way or the other, and Governor Ivey has committed to them that she is ready to dig her heels in and work with the legislature to get that accomplished.”
