{"id":164346,"date":"2021-02-12T09:32:54","date_gmt":"2021-02-12T17:32:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=164346"},"modified":"2021-07-07T00:59:00","modified_gmt":"2021-07-07T07:59:00","slug":"alabama-senate-begins-casino-and-lottery-discussion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alabama-senate-begins-casino-and-lottery-discussion\/","title":{"rendered":"Alabama Senate Begins Casino and Lottery Discussion, Bill Has Bipartisan Support"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Alabama Senate this week began discussions regarding legislation that would legalize slot machines<\/a>, table games, sports betting, and a state-run lottery.<\/p>\n

\"Alabama
Sen. Del Marsh (R), seen here last week on the Senate floor announcing his resignation as president pro tempore, is leading the effort in Alabama to legalize gaming. His legislation seeks to authorize casinos with slot machines and table games, sports betting, and lottery. (Image: Montgomery Advertiser<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

State Sen. Del Marsh’s (R-Talladega) gaming package seeks to allow the Poarch Band of Creek Indians’ expansion. Currently, they have three casinos that are only allowed to offer bingo-based electronic games.<\/p>\n

The bill would allow them to turn into full-scale casinos with slot machines and table games. The legislation additionally calls to legalize commercial gambling by way of five new commercial casinos.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sports betting and a lottery would also be authorized. If the Alabama Legislature approves the bundle, the matter would go before voters in a ballot referendum to amend the state constitution.<\/p>\n

Bill Could Legalize Seven Casinos<\/b><\/h2>\n

Senators on both sides of the political aisle expressed early support. However, there was some concern voiced by lawmakers representing areas where a casino wouldn’t be allocated.<\/p>\n

Marsh’s gaming pitch easily passed the Senate Tourism Committee with a unanimous vote on Wednesday. But once read on the Senate floor and opened to discussion, the general consensus was that more casinos might be needed<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

Southeast Alabama was left out. I’ve had a lot of calls wanting to know why,”<\/strong> said Sen. Donnie Chesteen (R-Geneva).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In its current form, Marsh’s bill would allow new casinos in Birmingham, Mobile, Shorter, and Eutaw. The sites are former greyhound racetracks. A fifth casino would be reserved for the Poarch Indians in either Jackson or DeKalb County.<\/p>\n

“You are not alone,” Marsh replied to Chesteen. “I’ve had at least four others in this chamber come to me with the same situation.”<\/p>\n

Marsh suggested yesterday that perhaps an additional two casinos be added to the bill.<\/p>\n

“My goal is to put something before the people of Alabama that treats the state fairly in terms of revenues to be anticipated and has the dollars going to specific programs that the people of Alabama want to see it go to,” Marsh explained.<\/p>\n

Licensing Fees Differ<\/b><\/h2>\n

If Alabamans ultimately back the major overhaul of gaming, the four commercial casinos would face a 20 percent tax on gross gaming revenue (GGR) from slots, tables, and sports betting. The four tribal casinos would need to enter into a Class III gaming compact<\/a> with the state, and that document would determine how much of their GGR would be shared with the government.<\/p>\n

Marsh set out upfront licensing fees for the racetrack casinos. The fare is dependent on each market.<\/p>\n

\n

The Birmingham Race Course casino license would cost $100 million, with the gaming permit good for 30 years. VictoryLand in Shorter would be required to pony up $50 million for a 25-year license. Greenetrack in Eutaw and Mobile Greyhound Park would each pay $5 million for 10-year gaming rights.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Poarch casinos currently operating as bingo venues would not be required to pay a licensing fee to bring in slots, table games, and a sportsbook. But the tribe’s potential new casino in either Jackson or DeKalb would, that cost to be determined at a later date.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Alabama Senate this week began discussions regarding legislation that would legalize slot machines, table games, sports betting, and a state-run lottery. State Sen. Del Marsh’s (R-Talladega) gaming package seeks to allow the Poarch Band of Creek Indians’ expansion. Currently, they have three casinos that are only allowed to offer bingo-based electronic games. The bill […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":164357,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,13],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAlabama Senate Begins Casino and Lottery Discussion<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Alabama Senate this week began its discussions regarding legislation that would legalize new casinos, plus a state lottery.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alabama Senate Begins Casino and Lottery Discussion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Alabama Senate this week began its discussions regarding legislation that would legalize new casinos, plus a state lottery.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alabama-senate-begins-casino-and-lottery-discussion\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-02-12T17:32:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-07-07T07:59:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/72f7c6ff-8f39-4c03-a371-5d18db0bcb62-xgr02.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Devin O'Connor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@CasinoorgDevinO\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Devin O'Connor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alabama-senate-begins-casino-and-lottery-discussion\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alabama-senate-begins-casino-and-lottery-discussion\/\",\"name\":\"Alabama Senate Begins Casino and Lottery Discussion\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alabama-senate-begins-casino-and-lottery-discussion\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alabama-senate-begins-casino-and-lottery-discussion\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/72f7c6ff-8f39-4c03-a371-5d18db0bcb62-xgr02.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-02-12T17:32:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-07-07T07:59:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/02b4fee8814a4003903b0021bffb4ebf\"},\"description\":\"The Alabama Senate this week began its discussions regarding legislation that would legalize new casinos, plus a state lottery.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alabama-senate-begins-casino-and-lottery-discussion\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alabama-senate-begins-casino-and-lottery-discussion\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alabama-senate-begins-casino-and-lottery-discussion\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/72f7c6ff-8f39-4c03-a371-5d18db0bcb62-xgr02.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/72f7c6ff-8f39-4c03-a371-5d18db0bcb62-xgr02.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"Sen. Del Marsh, seen here last week on the Senate floor announcing his resignation as president pro tempore, is leading the effort in Alabama to legalize gaming. His legislation seeks to authorize casinos with slot machines and table games, sports betting, and lottery. 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Devin's passion for politics and background in the world of pop culture television gives him insight into the gaming industry backstories that often drive news these days. After graduating from Penn State University with a theater arts degree, he worked at MTV Networks\/Viacom from 2005 to 2010 as a writer and producer. His credits included Total Request Live, New Year's Eve specials, and a special featuring poker superstar Daniel Negreanu. He later moved on to the HGTV\/DIY Network, where he created, wrote, and produced three series specials: That's So House Hunters, That's So 80s, and That's So 90s. Devin came on board with Casino.org in 2014. He lives in Pennsylvania and is an avid marathoner, having completed 15 races. 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