Alabama lawmakers fail to approve state’s controversial gaming legislation

Alabama lawmakers failed to approve controversial gaming legislation on Thursday, the final day of the state’s legislative session.

The proposed measures would have legalized a state education lottery, electronic games of chance, traditional raffles, and paper bingo but continued to prohibit tables, cards, dice, and dealers. The bill would not authorize sports betting.

The state House approved the conference reports on the gaming bills, sending the legislation to the Senate for consideration. The measure, which required 21 votes to move forward, failed by a single vote after State Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Baldwin, voted against it.

“I want to publicly thank this body … it’s amazing when you work together as a team when things don’t have Rs or Ds by their names,” said the bill’s sponsor, Republican state Rep. Russell Blackshear, when the legislation passed in the House hours before the Senate failed to do the same.

The gambling legislation would also have authorized the Alabama educational lottery to be paper only, while allowing electronic games of chance at seven locations throughout the state. No other locations would have been granted without new legislation being passed in both bodies and voted on by the citizens of the state.

More: Back to the drawing board: Alabama House doesn’t concur with Senate gambling bill

The lottery was set to be solely for education, with all other forms of gaming going to general funds. Alabamians would also have been able to participate in national lotteries, including the Mega Millions and Powerball lotteries.

The Alabama Gaming Commission would have regulated the approved forms of gambling and worked to stop cases of illegal gambling in the state. Republican Gov. Kay Ivey would also have been required to enter negotiations for a compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians to limit in-person activities on land.

Gaming of any kind was last on a ballot in Alabama in 1999, and it was defeated in a statewide vote.

Ivey said she would not call a special session to address the gaming bills.

Victor Hagan is the Alabama Election Reporting Fellow for the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at vhagan@gannett.com or on X @TheVictorHagan. To support his work, subscribe to the Advertiser.