Alabama House gambling bills include lottery, casinos, sports betting – Alabama Reflector
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Rep. Andy Whitt, R-Harvest, discusses gambling legislation Feb. 7, 2024 at the Alabama Statehouse. (Alander Rocha/Alabama Reflector)
A legislative study group on gambling Wednesday presented the framework of a set of two bills that would legalize gambling in Alabama, emphasizing the need for effective regulation and fair distribution of revenue.
Rep. Chris Blackshear, R-Smiths Station, said the two bills they plan on introducing Thursday would allow the state to regulate gaming.
“What it does is it takes everything that exists in Alabama today and completely implodes it,” Blackshear said.
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The announcement puts the Alabama Legislature on a course to tackle an issue it has struggled to find consensus on, one that has divided House Republicans and has drawn opposition from influential lobbies, including the Alabama Farmers Federation.
Alabama’s 1901 Constitution bans lotteries and games of chance, though local constitutional amendments have allowed some form of charity gaming. The legislation would remove those and legalize five types of gambling: casinos in a limited number of areas; a state lottery, sports betting, traditional bingo and raffles.
According to copies of the bill obtained by the Alabama Reflector, the bill would authorize casinos in areas that have or recently had some form of electronic bingo-type gaming, including Macon County (home of VictoryLand); Greene County (Greene County Entertainment); Houston County (Country Crossing); Lowndes County (White Hall Entertainment) Mobile (Mobile Greyhound Park) and Birmingham (Birmingham Race Course).
It would also authorize the negotiation of a compact with the Poarch Creek Indians for a casino in northeast Alabama and to regulate its existing casinos in Atmore, Montgomery and Wetumpka.
No more than seven casino licenses would be issued. Each license would require a $5 million fee, with an initial investment of $35 million and construction starting within 12 months of obtaining a license.
The legislation would establish an Alabama Gaming Commission, as well as a gaming enforcement division within the commission “to police all gaming activities in this state and work to eradicate unlawful gaming and gaming-related activities.”
A gaming establishment licensee will pay to the commission a 24% tax on gaming revenues for “casino-style gaming activities.” Sports wagering would be taxed at 17%.
The legislation would establish two trust funds for gambling proceeds, one for lottery revenues called the Lottery for Education Fund and another for casino and sports betting revenues called the Gaming Trust Fund.
Tax revenue from casinos and sports betting would go to the General Fund Budget Reserve until the total balance in the fund is at least $300 million. It currently stands at about $150 million, according to Blackshear.
As Alabama legislators work on gambling bill, opponents draw lines
After the General Fund Budget Reserve reaches $300 million, 95% of the total gaming revenue generated shall be allocated to the Gaming Trust Fund; 3% shall be allocated among the counties where gaming establishments are located and 2% to be allocated among the municipalities where gaming establishments are located.
The bill does not require the Legislature to appropriate money to specific needs but says it can allocate money for “non-recurring expenses.”
“Those will be appropriated through a supplemental process year over year. That way we can pivot to what our needs will be year over year,” Blackshear said.
Money from the Lottery for Education Fund can go to “non-recurring education expenses,” including treatment of gambling addiction; funding for scholarships for two-year colleges and technical schools; dual enrollment programs and local school boards.
Lawmakers could appropriate money from the Gaming Trust Fund for “non-recurring, non-education expenses.” Mental health; road construction; state park improvements; money for firefighters; bonuses for state employees and deferred prosecution services like drug and veterans’ courts could all be funded through it.
None of the spending is mandatory.
The bill would also allow — but not require — lawmakers to fund rural health care and qualified health benefit plans for “for adults with income below 138 percent of the federal poverty level and parents or other caretaker relatives of dependent children with income between 14 and 138 percent of the federal poverty level.”
Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act expands Medicaid services to anyone making up to 138% of the poverty level ($20,783 for an individual; $35,632 for a family of three).
Alabama has so far resisted Medicaid expansion, but House Republicans have expressed support for an Arkansas-type program that would use Medicaid expansion dollars in a public-private partnership.
Blackshear and Rep. Andy Whitt did not return a request for comment on the provision. Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee Chair Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, a supporter of a comprehensive approach, has said he opposes Medicaid expansion.
Albritton said Wednesday he was surprised the provision was in the bill, though he added he would be open to a private-public partnership framework.
“That language may be in there in order to get particular votes,” he said.
Whitt said that he is not a proponent of gambling expansion, but that illegal gambling is a “very serious problem for [the] state.”
“It’s a problem that has been lingering here for decades, and I think now we have an opportunity in front of us to finally put a stop to it,” he said.
Lawmakers in the study group declined to give a timeline for when the bill could come to a House vote, but said it could happen as early as next week.
Lotteries and gambling bills in the past have died in the Legislature, due to mistrust among established gambling in the state and divisions among House Republicans. A comprehensive gambling bill introduced in 2021 made it out of the Senate but was gutted and later killed in the House.
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by Alander Rocha, Alabama Reflector
February 8, 2024
by Alander Rocha, Alabama Reflector
February 8, 2024
A legislative study group on gambling Wednesday presented the framework of a set of two bills that would legalize gambling in Alabama, emphasizing the need for effective regulation and fair distribution of revenue.
Rep. Chris Blackshear, R-Smiths Station, said the two bills they plan on introducing Thursday would allow the state to regulate gaming.
“What it does is it takes everything that exists in Alabama today and completely implodes it,” Blackshear said.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
The announcement puts the Alabama Legislature on a course to tackle an issue it has struggled to find consensus on, one that has divided House Republicans and has drawn opposition from influential lobbies, including the Alabama Farmers Federation.
Alabama’s 1901 Constitution bans lotteries and games of chance, though local constitutional amendments have allowed some form of charity gaming. The legislation would remove those and legalize five types of gambling: casinos in a limited number of areas; a state lottery, sports betting, traditional bingo and raffles.
According to copies of the bill obtained by the Alabama Reflector, the bill would authorize casinos in areas that have or recently had some form of electronic bingo-type gaming, including Macon County (home of VictoryLand); Greene County (Greene County Entertainment); Houston County (Country Crossing); Lowndes County (White Hall Entertainment) Mobile (Mobile Greyhound Park) and Birmingham (Birmingham Race Course).
It would also authorize the negotiation of a compact with the Poarch Creek Indians for a casino in northeast Alabama and to regulate its existing casinos in Atmore, Montgomery and Wetumpka.
No more than seven casino licenses would be issued. Each license would require a $5 million fee, with an initial investment of $35 million and construction starting within 12 months of obtaining a license.
The legislation would establish an Alabama Gaming Commission, as well as a gaming enforcement division within the commission “to police all gaming activities in this state and work to eradicate unlawful gaming and gaming-related activities.”
A gaming establishment licensee will pay to the commission a 24% tax on gaming revenues for “casino-style gaming activities.” Sports wagering would be taxed at 17%.
The legislation would establish two trust funds for gambling proceeds, one for lottery revenues called the Lottery for Education Fund and another for casino and sports betting revenues called the Gaming Trust Fund.
Tax revenue from casinos and sports betting would go to the General Fund Budget Reserve until the total balance in the fund is at least $300 million. It currently stands at about $150 million, according to Blackshear.
As Alabama legislators work on gambling bill, opponents draw lines
After the General Fund Budget Reserve reaches $300 million, 95% of the total gaming revenue generated shall be allocated to the Gaming Trust Fund; 3% shall be allocated among the counties where gaming establishments are located and 2% to be allocated among the municipalities where gaming establishments are located.
The bill does not require the Legislature to appropriate money to specific needs but says it can allocate money for “non-recurring expenses.”
“Those will be appropriated through a supplemental process year over year. That way we can pivot to what our needs will be year over year,” Blackshear said.
Money from the Lottery for Education Fund can go to “non-recurring education expenses,” including treatment of gambling addiction; funding for scholarships for two-year colleges and technical schools; dual enrollment programs and local school boards.
Lawmakers could appropriate money from the Gaming Trust Fund for “non-recurring, non-education expenses.” Mental health; road construction; state park improvements; money for firefighters; bonuses for state employees and deferred prosecution services like drug and veterans’ courts could all be funded through it.
None of the spending is mandatory.
The bill would also allow — but not require — lawmakers to fund rural health care and qualified health benefit plans for “for adults with income below 138 percent of the federal poverty level and parents or other caretaker relatives of dependent children with income between 14 and 138 percent of the federal poverty level.”
Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act expands Medicaid services to anyone making up to 138% of the poverty level ($20,783 for an individual; $35,632 for a family of three).
Alabama has so far resisted Medicaid expansion, but House Republicans have expressed support for an Arkansas-type program that would use Medicaid expansion dollars in a public-private partnership.
Blackshear and Rep. Andy Whitt did not return a request for comment on the provision. Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee Chair Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, a supporter of a comprehensive approach, has said he opposes Medicaid expansion.
Albritton said Wednesday he was surprised the provision was in the bill, though he added he would be open to a private-public partnership framework.
“That language may be in there in order to get particular votes,” he said.
Whitt said that he is not a proponent of gambling expansion, but that illegal gambling is a “very serious problem for [the] state.”
“It’s a problem that has been lingering here for decades, and I think now we have an opportunity in front of us to finally put a stop to it,” he said.
Lawmakers in the study group declined to give a timeline for when the bill could come to a House vote, but said it could happen as early as next week.
Lotteries and gambling bills in the past have died in the Legislature, due to mistrust among established gambling in the state and divisions among House Republicans. A comprehensive gambling bill introduced in 2021 made it out of the Senate but was gutted and later killed in the House.
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Alabama Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alabama Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Brian Lyman for questions: info@alabamareflector.com. Follow Alabama Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics.
Alander Rocha is a journalist based in Montgomery, and he reports on government, policy and healthcare. He previously worked for KFF Health News and the Red & Black, Georgia’s student newspaper. He is a Tulane and Georgia alumnus with a two-year stint in the U.S. Peace Corps.
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© Alabama Reflector, 2024
The Alabama Reflector is an independent, nonprofit news outlet dedicated to covering state government and politics in the state of Alabama. Through daily coverage and investigative journalism, The Reflector covers decision makers in Montgomery; the issues affecting Alabamians, and potential ways to move our state forward.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons licence CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site.
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