After casino defeat, Alabama lawmakers look to lottery bills
By KIM CHANDLERMarch 12, 2021 GMT
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) Alabama lawmakers this week proposed new lottery bills, seeking to resurrect the issue after the defeat of a sweeping gambling proposal that would have also authorized multiple casinos in the state.
Republicans senators introduced two new lottery bills, looking to end Alabama’s status as one of five states without a state lottery. However, the lottery bills face an uncertain outlook because of long-running disputes over how the required changes in state law would affect existing bingo operators.
“They want a lottery,” Sen. Jim McClendon, R-Springville, said of people in his district.
Alabama Senate majority leader on lottery vote: I think there s a mandate
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After casino defeat, Alabama lawmakers look to lottery bills
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The bill that could’ve brought casinos, sports betting and a state lottery to Alabama was killed in the Senate Tuesday. SB 214, a bill sponsored by Sen. Del Marsh that would amend the state’s constitution to allow those forms of gambling, fell two votes shy of passing and will not head to the House for another vote. Since it was dealing with the state constitution, the proposal 60% of the 35 members to vote in favor of it. Only 19 members voted yes on the bill. The bill unanimously passed through the Senate Tourism Committee by an 11-0 margin, but Marsh couldn’t sway all of his fellow Republicans on the floor to vote for the bill. According to a report from AL.com, about half of the GOP voted against it. The bill would have ultimately given citizens the final say on the issue by making the issue a ballot initiative for the 2022 election season. It would’ve taxed casinos 20% on gross gambling revenue, which would’ve been used to expand access to high-speed internet across the
Alabama Senate defeats lottery and gambling bill
Looking back on Tuesday evening, Del Marsh said he should have held the vote on a lottery and gambling bill when he had the votes.
But hoping to ease concerns about the bill from some members, he agreed to delay it. And that delay proved fatal to the legislation. I made a rookie mistake, Marsh said after the Senate narrowly defeated his amendment to establish a lottery, sports betting and casino gambling in the state of Alabama. And I told three or four members in the body after that it was a mistake.