When the Alabama Legislature reconvenes in February, gambling bills are expected to be filed for the first time since 2021, when Governor Kay Ivey supported an unsuccessful bill that would have allowed casino gaming and a lottery. According to AL.com, House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter has expressed support for gambling legislation consideration in 2024.
State Rep. Andy Whitt, chair of the House Committee on Tourism and Economic Development, which would oversee any gaming legislation in the House, told WHNT News 19 the first step would be to crack down on illegal gambling throughout the state. He said illegal gambling is “rampant” across the state.
“To say Alabama has had a long and complicated history with gambling is a true understatement. Gambling and illegal gaming has plagued the state for decades. There is no consistency across our 67 counties,” he said.
Whitt said in the past 14 months he’s visited 45 “facilities that I consider illegal facilities, some on Main Street, some in back alleys, some in the back rooms. What I have found is just quite shocking to me, it is just something that I never could have imagined. I bought an illegal scratch-off ticket 3 blocks from the statehouse,” he told WHNT.
Whitt added, “My number one goal would be to shut down these illegal facilities, the illegal sports betting, the illegal online gaming. Any bill outside of that, that does not put that first and foremost, that enforcement and regulatory piece, then I’m not interested in expansion of any gaming in Alabama. This is what I’m focused on and that is the illegal aspect of it.”
Regulating and enforcing gambling would be “the building block” that could lead to legalizing gambling in Alabama, Whitt said. “Then let’s look at moving forward, if that’s the desire of the body. I certainly wouldn’t be opposed at looking at any legislation moving forward. Again, my constituents, you know Madison-Limestone County have been very vocal that they’d like to support something and have the ability to vote on something. So, that is certainly within the realm of seeing legislation this year.”
