The bill that would put the fate of an expansive gaming package in the hands of the voters in November appears to be lacking the two-thirds majority of Senate voters.
Let’s explore the primary challenges the bill encounters and examine what the outlook implies for the future of online sportsbooks in Alabama.
Clearing the Hurdle
The Republican caucus holds 27 of the 35 seats in the Senate and it will take 21 of those votes to advance the bill that will ultimately allow Alabama residents to determine whether commercial casinos, mobile sports betting and even a lottery will be in their future.
However, before the voters get to have a voice, the legislation must pass for them to do so, and right now that seems like a long shot, as there doesn’t appear to be enough support in the state senate to muster the two-thirds votes required.
Senator Greg Albritton has said that he has tried to change his colleagues’ minds about the bill but fears more senators need to be convinced.
The only casinos the state has right now are essentially slot parlors with no table games allowed, featured at the Wind Creek Casino & Hotel Atmore, Wind Creek Casino & Hotel Montgomery and the Wind Creek Casino & Hotel Wetumpka, all owned by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.
“You’ll have to ask opponents and proponents of said issue,” said Albritton about casinos. “I don’t know. We’ve got casinos now, and they’ve continued to increase. All we’re trying to do with the bill is decrease them. So, I don’t know if they want more or not. I can’t figure it out.”
Supporting the Cause
It should be noted that several iterations of sports betting bills have died in the Alabama legislature but this most recent legislation, sponsored by Representative Chris Blackshear, has already passed the House, which is an optimistic sign.
The bill would not only authorize sports betting but create a lottery and allow for seven commercial casinos throughout the state. According to the language in the bill, the lottery revenue would be earmarked for education programs while casino and sports betting proceeds could be used for mental health services or “rural health” programs that are akin to Medicaid augmentation coverage.
However, the legislators would have a wide berth as to where they would direct the funds and what programs would ultimately benefit. Representative Blackshear was quoted as telling the House that this comprehensive gambling package would generate between $936 million and $1.2 billion for the state of Alabama.
Harrison Adams, spokesperson for Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed, R-Jasper, wrote that Reed’s “priority for timeline for any legislation including the gambling bill is to ensure that all members of the Senate have the time and opportunity to study the legislation.”
Senator Donnie Chesteen has had issues with previous gambling legislation but he supports this bill based on what he has seen thus far. He also believes it is time the voters had their say in the matter as their opinions on gambling have been silenced for decades.
“It’s been 25 years since this issue has been decided by the people, and we keep on kicking the can down the road, as they say, year after year talking about it, but the bill came out of the House and so I think we’ll have some interesting discussions this week in the Senate and see where we are with it,” Chesteen said.
