This week, Alabama senators will vote to legalize a state lottery, thus bypassing the vote to legalize casinos. They hope to legalize the state lottery with or without casinos.
This type of voting has not taken place since 1999 when Alabama residents rejected a state lottery proposed by Governor Don Siegelman.
Alabama is one of the 5 states in the country that do not yet have a state lottery. In recent years, a state lottery has been one of the hot topics for Alabama. In the last 5 years, the parliamentarians have considered a lot of proposals, but the bills have not passed because of the opposition to gambling.
In 2020, in the midst of the Covid pandemic, Governor Kay Ivey called a group to gather information on how the expansion of gambling would impact the state. McClendon said Ivey plans to meet with him and other lawmakers on Tuesday.
Jim McClendon of Springville said he hopes the Senate will allow his bill to authorize the lottery and start selling tickets to stores, kiosks, and through a telephone application.
Last month, the Senate Tourism Committee approved the bill, but negotiations to include or not the casinos are still ongoing. A proposal to add 10 casinos, along with a state lottery, fell short by 2 votes in the state Senate. Senator Del Marsh’s gambling bill included expanding gambling in the state and building casinos in several counties, including a bingo facility in Houston Country.
According to McClendon, the lottery has a future and intends to vote, without casinos, and see if it has support. In his opinion, the voters would be more interested in a lottery, and the revenues obtained would be divided into two equal parts: one part would go for the general budgets and the other for the state education.
In order to be approved, the bill on gambling must be endorsed by 3/5 of the parliamentarians and receive the majority of votes from the residents of the state.
Ivey spokeswoman Gina Maiola said: “The governor. Ivey is actively in talks with the legislature and others to determine the next steps. ” She said Alabama residents want to vote on the issue, and Governor Ivey intends to do so.
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