Poarch Band of Creek Indians relaunches gambling campaign in Alabama

The Poarch Band of Creek Indians has relaunched its campaign for the new legislative period.

US.- The Poarch Band of Creek Indians (PCI) has relaunched its pro-gambling and lottery advertising campaign in Alabama as the new legislative period begins. It’s seeking support for a new bill to expand legal gambling in the state.

Its commercial highlights the financial benefits betting verticals would bring to the state. It shows different workers, including a farmer, a construction worker, a physician and a firefighter saying a bill could bring over $700m a year into the state. They say the money could go to infrastructure, education, health care, high-speed Internet expansion and public safety while creating 12,000 jobs.

The tribe rolled out a similar “Winning for Alabama” campaign in 2019 at the onset of the last quadrennium. The pro-gambling bill introduced in this period suffered defeat in two regular legislative sessions.

Alabama has no commercial casinos and only three tribal casinos operated by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. It’s also one of just five states in the US without a lottery.

Last year, a unanimous Alabama Supreme Court decision forced Victoryland, Southern Star, and White Hall Casinos to cease gambling operations as part of the state’s crack down on illegal electronic bingo machines.