Alabama Senate approves lottery and casino bill

The legislation will allow voters to decide whether the state wil have a lottery and casinos.

US.- The Alabama Senate has approved legislation to allow voters to decide whether they want a lottery and casinos in the state. The approval of the bill to make a constitutional amendment comes after the Senate rejected a similar proposal five weeks ago.

The bill will now go to the House. If it gets approval there, the ballot will take place in November 2022.

Senator Jim McClendon first proposed a constitutional amendment to allow voters to decide whether they wanted a lottery but didn’t include casinos. He then substituted that framework for another that added six new casinos to the plan.

According to the bill, four of the casinos would be at the state’s greyhound tracks in Birmingham, Mobile, Greene County, and Macon County. One would be in Houston County, at the Crossing at Big Creek bingo hall. The sixth would be in either DeKalb or Jackson County in northeast Alabama.

The bill would also authorise sports betting and create an Alabama Gaming Commission. This would be the body that would issue licenses for the casinos through a competitive bidding process.

For the casino in DeKalb or Jackson County, the Poarch Band of Creek Indians would have the right to make the final bid.

The bill would require the governor to negotiate a compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.