Alabama House Speaker backs gambling bill to protect consumers
Alabama has been debating gambling-related bills in recent years, but Montgomery's chances of passing legislation next year may be better than ever. That's because a powerful lawmaker says it's time to authorize casinos to protect the many Alabama residents who already participate in gambling.
The Alabama Legislature will convene in March 2024. House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville) hopes lawmakers will finally push for gambling measures to ensure consumer protections.
Ledbetter has been working to legalize gambling since 2021. He said many Alabama residents "are already gambling," whether in neighboring states like Mississippi, over the Internet, at offshore betting sites or at "clandestine bookmakers" and gambling dens.
"We don't have hundreds of illegal gambling operations. We probably have over a thousand. They're all over the state, in every county and everywhere. Some of these places sell drugs. We have serious criminal activity around us," Ledbetter told Alabama Political Reporter.
Gambling bills have been introduced in nearly each of the past 20 legislative sessions. Republicans hold supermajorities in every legislative chamber, holding 77 of the 105-seat House of Representatives and 27 of the 34-seat Senate.
Required Regulatory Framework
Ledbetter said in September that the Alabama Legislature should legalize casinos to protect consumers and eliminate illegal operations from the state.
“If we don’t do something about it and we don’t regulate it, then we are just condoning illegal gambling,” Ledbetter told the Capital Journal in September.
Ledbetter said he would work with House lawmakers to draft a gambling bill. He expects the bill to be similar to bills introduced by Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, in 2021 and 2022. The bills seek to legalize the state lottery and allow up to nine casinos to open.
While Ledbetter believes Montgomery has enough support to pass a gambling bill, how to bring gambling to the Cotton State remains controversial.
Alabama is home to a federally recognized tribe, the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, which operates three Native American casinos in Alabama. Only in Atmore, Montgomery and Wetupka since the state refused to enter into a Class III gaming agreement with the tribe that would have allowed its Wind Creek Casino to offer Las Vegas-style slot machines, table games and possible sports betting. of gaming locations offer bingo-based electronic games.
The Poarch Indians want exclusive rights to slot machines and table games if Alabama legalizes commercial gambling. But out-of-state gaming interests have been hard at work lobbying lawmakers to welcome game developers and operators. This resulted in a deadlock.
Legislative Path
The Alabama Constitution prohibits commercial gambling and lottery games. To change that, voters would have to approve any gambling laws passed by the Legislature through a statewide referendum.
"We simply cannot allow this to continue," Ledbetter concluded. “This is a public safety issue. People want to push back and say we are expanding gambling, but that is not the case. If we pass legislation and impose strict enforcement and regulation, the number of regulated and licensed gaming companies will drop from over a thousand to ten Around home."
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Source: www.casino.org
