In Alabama, the Senate Tourism and Marketing Committee unanimously voted to advance to the full Senate a bill authorizing a state lottery and casino gambling. The bill’s sponsor, state Senator Del Marsh, said, “I firmly believe the people of Alabama want to address this issue once and for all.”
The legislation would require a constitutional amendment allowing a statewide lottery plus five casinos offering slot machines, table games and sports betting. The casinos would be located at existing dog racing tracks: Birmingham Race Course, Mobile Greyhound facility, VictoryLand in Macon County and Greenetrack in Greene County.
A fifth casino to be operated by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians would be located in Jackson County or DeKalb County. The measure also supports a gaming compact to be negotiated by the governor and the tribe including its three electronic bingo casinos in Atmore, Montgomery and Wetumpka.
The proposed amendment also would create a 7-member Alabama Gaming Commission, which also would regulate charitable bingo. The measure would have to be approved by a three-fifths majority of each chamber, followed by a majority of voters in a statewide referendum. Marsh said, “I’m going to listen to my colleagues and see what the consensus is. But at some point, I do believe there has to be a finite number of facilities and a strong gaming commission to oversee them and have the power to keep them straight.”
According to an estimate by the Legislative Services Agency, a lottery would generate $194 million to $279 million a year, with proceeds directed to education and workforce needs. The agency estimated the casinos would produce $260 million to $393 million annually, based on a 20 percent tax on gaming revenue. Marsh also has proposed directing casino revenue toward expanding broadband access in the state and funding mental and rural health services. Host communities would receive 5 percent of casino tax revenue.
Sports betting revenue also would be taxed at 20 percent, with proceeds going to repay the Alabama Trust Fund for previous transfers to the state’s General Fund.
Under the proposal, licensing fees would be $100 million for a 30-year license for the Birmingham Race Course; $50 million for a 25-year license for VictoryLand; $5 million for a 10-year license for Greenetrack and the Mobile Greyhound facility. The Poarch Band would not pay license fees or taxes at its three casinos on tribal lands, which operate under federal authority.
Robbie McGhee, chief government and public affairs officer for the Poarch Band, said the tribe had several concerns about the bill, including a provision that the gaming commission would determine the license fee and terms for the tribe’s new northeast Alabama casino. McGhee said the tribe would prefer all five new casinos abide by the same terms.
McGhee, who said he has worked on gambling laws in the state for 18 years, commented that voters would likely support the proposed amendment. “Hopefully this is something that has the support of the people. I think it does. I think they’re ready to put this behind them and move on. And I do believe that as the governor and others have pointed out, this will be the revenue that they need do their broadband, their rural medicine and other educational issues and such, especially with us having a lottery.”
In her State of the State address, Governor Kay Ivey said Alabama would benefit from gambling expansion done the right way. “We did a study on the expansion of gambling, the benefits and drawbacks, and the study indicates that if we do it right, if we pass the right laws and enforce the law, it can be a good thing. But we’ll just see. I’m working with Senator Marsh, I meet with him regularly, and we’re on top of this and we’ll be working with the legislature going forward.”
