Alabama Senate bill could bring two new tribal casinos and a state lottery

A bill proposed in the Alabama Senate could lead to five full-fledged tribal casinos and an education lottery for the state.

Senate Bill 282, sponsored by Sen. Greg Albritton, proposes a constitutional amendment that would result in a lottery and casino table games in the state, a compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians for exclusive gambling rights in the state and new casinos in Jefferson County and northeastern Alabama. Over the past year, the tribe released ads touting their gaming plan, which they estimate would generate $1 billion for the state.

According to the bill, if the amendment was passed by lawmakers and by Alabama voters, the Poarch Creeks could offer table games like blackjack, roulette and craps at its three existing casinos and two new casinos. One of those casinos would be at an unidentified location in Jefferson County and another would be in either Marshall, Jackson or Dekalb County.

Albritton explained the two new properties would not be tribal land. They would be subject to taxes. “The two new sites would be completely governed as any other corporation or business would be,” Albritton said, as reported by ABC 33/40.

The proposed amendment would require an initial license fee of $250 million and a capital investment of at least $250 million for the additional sites. The amendment would also impose a license fee determined by the commission on each operator of bingo or pari-mutuel wagering.

It would also allow for the creation of a lottery that would allow multistate games like Powerball and Mega Millions, with proceeds benefiting education.

This bill would not allow other businesses to offer the casino games. When asked about the reasons for this, he said: “One, they’re in my district. But seriously, they have the experience level and they have supervision that’s done mostly from the feds and the means, how could I say this? The resources to do it completely and properly.”

Right now, Alabama's Constitution outlaws any type of gambling, unless there's a constitutional amendment with an exception. This proposed gaming package requires a change to the constitution. That means if lawmakers approve it, the constitutional amendment would go before the voters for final approval. Albritton hopes that could be during the November 2020 election.

The proposed bill bears many similarities to a proposal floated last year by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. But Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has called for further study of the potential revenue that could be generated by increasing gambling options and adding a lottery in the state, creating a study group to examine the issue. The group will submit a final report to the governor, the Alabama Legislature and the public no later than Dec. 31.

This isn't the first time a casino has been pitched for Jefferson County. A previous effort for a lottery and gambling bill that would have opened the door for a casino at the Birmingham Race Course stalled in the Alabama Legislature.