The Alabama House Republican caucus met for two hours behind closed doors Wednesday, a meeting that included discussion of a gambling bill that GOP lawmakers will introduce for the annual legislative session that is less than four weeks away.

Rep. Andy Whitt, R-Harvest, who has led a group of legislators studying gambling over the last 14 months, said the bill is still in the works and declined to release details.

Whitt said he expects it to be a comprehensive bill, which has been the term used previously for bills that include a lottery, casinos, a regulatory commission, and sports betting.

Whitt said his purpose is to crack down on illegal gambling happening across the state.

“As I’ve traveled the state over the last 12 months, it’s simply the wild west, the illegal gambling,” Whitt said. “And it’s something we need to address. It’s past time. And this year, we will have a bill.”

Whitt said he has been in at least 50 facilities that had slot machines in counties from north to south Alabama. He said they are called electronic bingo but are illegal.

“I think when we have 67 counties, 67 sheriffs and DAs interpreting the law differently, there’s no clarity and one uniformed piece of legislation or law that they follow,” Whitt said. “And enforcements are different as we know across the state.”

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The Alabama constitution prohibits lotteries and other games of chance, so any proposal to expand legal gambling requires a constitutional amendment that voters would decide on in an election. Alabama voters last had their say on a lottery bill in 1999, when voters rejected a proposal backed by Gov. Don Siegelman.

Lottery and gambling proposals come up every year in the Legislature and have received serious consideration some years. Three years ago, the Senate passed a comprehensive gambling bill that included a lottery, casinos, sports betting, and a compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. The bill died in the House.

House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, has said he supports legislation to regulate gambling. Support in the Republican caucus is important because the GOP holds three-fourths of the seats in the House.

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“I think the chances are better (this year),” Whitt said. “It’s certainly my hope that we can get it on the floor and get it passed out and then up to the Senate.”

Gov. Kay Ivey supported the comprehensive proposal three years and has not changed her position, the governor said in a statement today.

“Changing gambling law means changing our Constitution, and that means it has to go to the ballot for the people of Alabama to decide,” Ivey said. “The last time the Legislature proposed a constitutional amendment on gambling to Alabama voters was in 1999, and frankly, I support Alabamians having another opportunity to vote on the issue. I think it has to be comprehensive enough to clearly address all forms of gambling. And most importantly, it must be done right – I will only support legislation if I think is best for our state and our citizens.”

Ivey’s support for the bill in 2021 came after she appointed a study group on gambling policy that issued a report in December 2020 estimating the state would net up to $300 million a year from a lottery, up to $400 million from casinos, and $10 million or more from sports betting. The report said gambling could create up to 19,000 jobs.

Rep. Chris Blackshear, R-Phenix City, said he expects to sponsor the bill this year. Blackshear was the House sponsor of the Senate-passed bill that died in 2021. Blackshear said he thinks this year’s bill will be ready before the legislative session starts Feb. 6.

Alabama is one of only five states that does not have a lottery. All four bordering states have lotteries. Whitt’s north Alabama district is on the Tennessee line in Limestone and Madison counties.

“In my hometown of Ardmore, we have to sometimes divert school buses when the jackpots get so high because of the traffic from Alabama going into there,” Whitt said. “So this is something that’s been needed to address. It hasn’t been addressed in over a quarter of a century, was the last time Alabamians voted on something. And I’m working towards that to try to bring some finality to that. And let’s clean up gaming.”