Alabama lawmakers will resume a quarter-century quest – the idea of legalized gambling – during the 2024 legislative session, one year after placing the issue completely on hold.

But the approach by the Alabama House, which is where gambling bills have died in past years, could be different than votes on comprehensive casino plans. Lawmakers are exploring ways to introduce measures to establish a regulatory body to reign in what they claim is a rash of illegal gambling that is already occurring.

Republican Alabama House Speaker Nathanial Ledbetter, and State Rep. Andy Whitt, R-Harvest who chairs an ad hoc group of House members exploring examining gaming, both said this week that the state needs to form a gaming commission and regulate widespread illicit gambling.

“We have to fix it,” said Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, following a speech before the Mobile Chamber on Thursday. “We have to regulate it. It’s already here.”

He added, “It’s no longer about gaming, but fixing the problem we got. I think the fact of the matter is we’ll reduce gambling tremendously if we pass something to regulate.”

Anti-gambling groups led by the Alabama Citizen’s Action Program (ALCAP), argue that forming a new government regulatory agency is not warranted to address “a few dozen instances” of illegal gaming operations.

They also called the approach by Ledbetter and Whitt is a “smokescreen” for legalizing gambling.

“Yes, illegal gambling does take place,” said Greg Davis, president of ALCAP, which represents over 3,500 churches across Alabama and has long opposed legislative efforts to legalize gambling. “But will legalizing some forms of gambling automatically stop all forms of illegal gambling? Of course not. Gambling operators who are currently breaking the law, and those who allow it to happen, will likely continue to do so.”

He added, “Illegal operators are not going to just line up to be regulated and pay taxes.”

Widespread concern

Whitt said the concern over illegal gambling affects all of Alabama. He said the state “is saturated with all forms of illegal gambling” that includes scratch-off games and slot machines.

He also likened the operation to organized crime.

“When you see the similarities of these machines and their so-called ‘legal statement’ stickers, this only confirms to me that this is coordinated and is organized crime,” Whitt said. “Myself, along with other colleagues, have witnessed this firsthand and it was simply appalling.”

Whitt said the amount of illegal gambling is such a concern that even local law enforcement officers are confused as to what is allowed, “as evidenced by them working security shifts at numerous facilities across the state.”

“When a person can walk into a convenience store that is only a few blocks from our State’s Capitol and purchase a scratch off ticket, then yeah, we have a big problem,” Whitt said.

Ledbetter said the issue is more widespread than Davis claims, noting that there are 77 illicit gambling operators “that we know of” in Jefferson County. Fourteen illicit bingo facilities were shut down in Jefferson County earlier this year, and an illegal gambling den in Walker County was shut down in August following a drug overdose.

Bingo facilities have drawn the ire of current and past state attorneys general in Alabama, who claim all forms of gambling not conducted on tribal lands is illegal in Alabama.

“We are losing the battle,” Ledbetter said. “We don’t have the manpower to shut down the illegal operations. They’ve been found in thrift shops, (grocery stores), fabric stores. It’s unbelievable.”

Lottery vote

Whitt and Ledbetter are proponents of getting a lottery started in Alabama, or at least have voters decide on whether it should be allowed. It has been more than 24 years since the last lottery proposal was defeated at the ballot box in 1999.

Alabama is one of only five states in the U.S. without a lottery. The others are Hawaii, Nevada, Utah, and Alaska. Surrounded on each side by states with lotteries, many Alabama residents regularly cross the state lines into Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida to buy lottery tickets.

Alabama, according to a 2020 report, would raise an estimated $200 million to $300 million from having a statewide lottery. Mississippi’s lottery, in place since 2018, brings in close to $100 million each year to the state’s General Fund.

“The thing about it is everyone around us has got it,” Ledbetter said. “We are losing money for our kids.”

Legalizing lottery in Alabama remains wrapped up in a complicated mix of local and state politics over a comprehensive approach toward allowing gambling – casinos, sports wagering, and more.

It is a complicated political matter because of the existence of charity bingo halls, primarily in the rural Black Belt region, which have evolved into large employment centers and revenue generators for some of the poorest counties in Alabama.

Legalizing any form of gambling requires an amendment to the Alabama State Constitution, voted on during an election.

“It has been almost 25 years since Alabamians last voted on a lottery referendum, and conventional wisdom indicates such an amendment would pass by a landslide margin if placed on the ballot today,” Whitt said. “But in the quarter-century since the last referendum, much as changed, and a more comprehensive approach to gaming is needed, especially since it demands a statewide referendum vote.”

Legislative approach

Ledbetter, asked by AL.com if there should be an up-or-down vote on lottery, re-emphasized his interest in getting “the enforcement piece” addressed first.

“Then we get to the lottery piece and look at the facilities (bingo halls) that are existing,” he said. “We need to put a gaming commission together and regulate the whole thing. And at the end of the day, the Legislature needs to step back and let the professionals take care of it.”

The Alabama House paused from dealing with the issue last spring because of an influx of new state lawmakers and the need to get them up-to-speed on the issue first, Ledbetter said.

“My preacher might get mad, but we got to (address gambling),” said Ledbetter, a Southern Baptist. “We have to quit fooling ourselves. It’s here. We have to legislate it.”

Davis, with ALCAP, said the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) is “fully capable” of enforcing existing state law without the state having to add more bureaucracy.

“The only reason for a commission would be to regulate legal gambling,” he said.

Davis said if lawmakers really wanted to crackdown on illegal gambling, they would increase criminal penalties against illegal operators.

“Currently, the penalty for breaking the law is a small risk in comparison to the rewards to be had,” Davis said. He said the shuttered businesses in Jefferson County are closed because Jefferson County officials pulled their business licenses.

“The penalty for operating without a business license is greater than operating an illegal gambling establishment,” he said.

Alabama State Senator Chris Elliott, R-Josephine, said that whatever evolves on the issue, will have to first emerge out of the Alabama House. The Alabama Senate has OK’d gambling packages before only to see them stalled in the House.

“The House has chosen not to deal with this issue, and we are left with a lot of illegal gaming going on and no enforcement mechanisms and what is clearly a problem with a loss of significant revenue that needs to be addressed,” Elliott said. “I do not sense an appetite in the Alabama Senate to deal with this issue until our colleagues in the House decide what they can pass. It’s incumbent on the House to figure out what they can get their arms around and be comfortable with.”

Whitt said in the House, it’s time to move on the issue.

“As for my constituents, it’s crystal clear to me that they desire to vote on this issue,” he said. “I’m ready for them to have that opportunity.”