HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — Seven days remain in the Alabama legislative session for 2022. Lawmakers are set to go back to work Tuesday – with a familiar question looming over the end of the session.
Will there be a lottery in Alabama?
Efforts to pass a lottery bill have failed in recent years, and a push last year for a casino gaming-lottery bill also fell short.
But this is an election year. The lottery-only bill was approved in a House committee shortly before the legislature took last week off, so there’s been time for legislators to talk to people in their districts about the measures. A Senate committee has approved the gaming bill. Neither bill is currently set for a floor vote.
The “lottery only” bill creates money for scholarships and school loan debt relief. The casino gaming bill would also allow for casino gaming and sports betting. It calls for a compact with the Poarch Creek Indians to establish a casino in Northeast Alabama, in either Jackson or DeKalb counties.
Sponsors say the proposed lottery would generate, after expenses, $198 to $285 million a year.
The casino bill that also includes a lottery, would raise a projected $267 to $404 million in addition to the lottery estimates. That’s a big swing and it appears some of those estimates relate to gaming license costs over time.
Any lottery or gaming bill passed by the Alabama Legislature would require approval by voters.
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