Legalized gambling in Alabama could bring up to $700 million into state coffers annually and create as many as 19,000 new jobs, according to a report released by a gubernatorial committee on Friday.
The Study Group on Gambling, formed by Gov. Kay Ivey earlier this year as legislators appeared ready to tackle the issue, did not make specific recommendations on the issue and acknowledged there could be social costs to gambling.
But former Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange, the chair of the group, said at a press conference on the State Capitol steps that the group concluded the state could absorb the costs.