On April 30, in a 72-29 vote, the Alabama House of Representatives approved a conference version of HB 151, which would have allowed a lottery and slot machines at 10 locations statewide, including three Class II casinos owned by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.
The bill also would have required the governor to negotiate a compact with the Poarch Band for Class III gaming. The bill was a constitutional amendment, requiring a voter referendum in a special election on August 20.
Four hours after the House approved the legislation, it then moved on for approval to the Senate, where it failed by a single vote, in a 20-15 outcome, to reach the required two-thirds majority for passage.
As a result, for now, Alabama remains one of five states without a lottery. The Senate did not vote on HB 152, the enabling legislation.
The bill will be carried over and could face a re-vote before the session adjourns. State Senator Greg Albritton, a member of the conference committee that worked out the differences between the House and Senate versions of HB 151, said the bill still was alive and lawmakers are getting closer to a deal, but added, “We just got a long way to go.”
According to the Wetumpka Herald, he noted, “Lotteries are all around us. People are traveling to play in the lotteries. This is our first and best attempt at being able to control an industry that we right now are letting run wild.”
Revenue from the lottery would be equally divided between “education-related activities,” non-education, general governmental activities and the Alabama Department of Transportation.
The holdout in the Senate, state Senator Dan Roberts, said he opposed a lottery because it would hurt those who can least afford to buy tickets. Roberts said that a lottery is “selling hope $3 at a time,” but added,”I do hate all the illegal stuff that is going on. It is a cancer.”
The gambling legislation originally was taken up in February and included a significant expansion of gambling, including retail and online sports betting. The last time Alabamians voted on, and rejected, a lottery was in 1999.
According to CBS 42, Gov. Kay Ivey recently stated, “My position has remained unchanged. It’s time for voters of Alabama to have their say. Legislators have had their say all along, so now it’s time for the Alabama voters to vote. Let’s get this done.”
