Alabama: lottery and sports betting bill to be sent to House
A bill that would legalise sports betting, lottery, and gambling in the state of Alabama will be sent to the House of Representatives.
US.- The state of Alabama is preparing to send a bill that would legalise sports betting, lottery, and casino gambling to the House of Representatives for discussion. The bill has already been approved by several state committees.
Earlier this month, the Senate approved the constitutional amendment with 23 votes in favor and 9 against it.
If the House approves the bill, residents will be able to vote on the legalisation of sports betting in Alabama in the next elections in November.
If the move is approved at the ballot, an Alabama Education Lottery Corporation would be created to operate a state lottery in the state. The state would also create the Alabama Gaming Commission in order to supervise casino gambling activities, sports betting and bingo.
During a meeting held by the Ways and Means Education Committee, Rep. Chris Blackshear said: “There are three facts we can all agree to, whether we support the legislation or not. One is, gambling exists in the state of Alabama today, that’s a fact.
“Number two, it’s mostly unregulated, especially at the state level. The third fact is the state sees no revenue from the gambling that takes place in the state of Alabama today.”
Meanwhile, representative Reed Ingram has shown his disagreement towards the new bill, saying that locals have had very limited opportunities to discuss the bill with the legislature, adding also that state lawmakers wouldn’t be doing their duty by acting in such a rush. He also talked about the potential corruption the bill would bring:
“In sports gaming, have we talked to any coaches, the Alabama coach or Auburn’s coach, on how they like this? How it may affect their players and possibly cause some corruption?”
The lottery’s income would go exclusively to a lottery trust fund for education purposes and scholarship programmes. The bill sets the sports betting tax rate at 20 per cent with the possibility of increasing the rate every five years by a maximum of 2 per cent each time, with a ceiling at 30 per cent.
