Casino Gambling In AL Could Come With This Bill Aimed At Tribes
- Bill AL SB282 would legalize gambling at three Tribal locations as well as two commercial locations in Alabama.
- Numerous casino games would become legal and offered at all five casinos if AL SB282 were to become law.
- The Poarch Creek Indians have been discussing this gaming expansion for over a year.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Poarch Creek Indians with the help of Senator Greg Albritton (R-Atmore) have filed proposal AL SB282 with the Alabama State House to allow them to operate gaming businesses in Jefferson County.
Under the proposal, an education lottery for the state as well as five casinos would be allowed. The Tribe has been marketing their plan for gaming expansion over the course of a year making claims that they could bring in a billion dollars annually for the state in revenue.
Details On AL SB252
Senator Greg Albritton (R-Atmore) is the sponsor for the bill AL SB282. While the Poarch Creek Indians would have the majority of all Alabama casino businesses with their three locations, the other two casinos would be commercialized and treated as such.
They would not be on Tribal lands and would be taxed as any other commercial operator would.
“The two new sites would be completely governed as any other corporation or business would be,” said Albritton.
Currently, Tribal businesses only offer electronic bingo machines. The two commercial casino locations would see one in Northern Alabama and another in Jefferson County. The Constitution in Alabama is against all gambling with the exception of amendments when it comes to gaming.
If AL SB282 makes it through the Legislature, the amendment would need to be voted in by the constituents of the state on the November 2020 ballot. This would make AL SB282 and expanded legal gambling a reality.
Games that would be made legal under the bill and offered at the casinos would be “any traditional casino game, slot machines, video lottery, video lottery terminals, sports wagering, baccarat, chemin de fer, and blackjack, all table games, and electronic representations of such games.”
When asked why he chose to give exclusivity to the Poarch Creek Indians, Albritton responded with, “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.”
There is a long road ahead for AL SB282 to make it to the 2020 ballot. The legislative session in Alabama ends on May 18. An opposition may be faced due to Tribal exclusivity and having to amend the Constitution, however, bill AL SB282 has many good aspects to legalize casino gambling in Alabama by 2021.