{"id":493,"date":"2026-03-09T15:48:55","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T16:48:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/?p=493"},"modified":"2026-03-25T13:25:55","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T13:25:55","slug":"will-referendum-on-alabama-lottery-casinos-and-sports-betting-reach-voters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/09\/will-referendum-on-alabama-lottery-casinos-and-sports-betting-reach-voters\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Referendum on Alabama Lottery, Casinos, and Sports Betting Reach Voters?"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><strong>Bills in Alabama seeking to authorize forms of gambling have stalled<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The Alabama Constitution needs to be amended to permit any new form of gambling<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Alabama&#8217;s tribal casinos only offer electronic-based bingo machines<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Legislation in Alabama to allow the public to weigh in on whether a lottery, casino gambling, and sports betting are authorized is facing an imminent deadline.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_379040\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-379040\" data-style=\"width: 858px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-post-thumbnail-858xAUTO wp-image-379040 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" alt=\"Alabama referendum gaming lottery casinos\" width=\"858\" height=\"572\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/shutterstock_1386575123-858x572-1.jpg\"><figcaption>The Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery. Legislation to present gaming expansion questions to state voters in November is unlikely to pass the Alabama Legislature before its March 27th adjournment. (Image: Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The Alabama Legislature is set to adjourn on March 27 for its 2026 session. Senate Bill 257, which seeks to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alabama-gaming-package-easily-defeated\/\">present gaming matters<\/a> to voters during the 2026 statewide election, is in much-need of a quick resurgence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">Introduced by state Sen. Merika Coleman (D-Jefferson), SB257 would ask voters to amend the Alabama Constitution to permit various forms of gaming, including commercial and tribal casinos, sports betting, and a state-run lottery.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The proposed ballot referendum would allow the governor to negotiate a Class III gaming compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, which currently runs Alabama&#8217;s only casinos in Atmore, Montgomery, and Wetumpka. The Wind Creek casinos can only offer Class I and II gaming, as defined by the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The Wind Creek properties offer slot-like electronic bingo-based machines.<\/span><span class=\"s1\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Legislative Deadline Approaching<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">With the March 27 adjournment fast approaching, it appears that Alabamans will once again have their voice muted from the gaming discussion.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Since its introduction on Feb. 3, Coleman&#8217;s SB257 has sat with the Senate Tourism Committee. The committee, chaired by Sen. Randy Price (R-Chambers), has seemingly no interest in reviewing and voting to forward the gaming bill. Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Baldwin) is a member of the Tourism Committee and a longtime proponent of expanding gambling in the Cotton State.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">SB257 already faced long odds before the Senate Tourism Committee decided not to act on the bill.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Because it seeks to present a ballot referendum to amend the state constitution, the bill requires a three-fifths majority support in each chamber of the legislature. Republicans hold a 76-29 majority in the House and 27-8 control of the Senate.<\/span><span class=\"s1\">\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>House Lottery Bill<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">In the Alabama House of Representatives, a lottery bill has also stalled. Filed by Rep. Phillip Ensler (D-Montgomery), House Bill 448 would establish the Alabama Lottery Corporation to administer a state-run lottery. The bill would also permit the state to enter into a compact with the Poarch Creek Indians to bring slot machines and live dealer table games to the three Wind Creek properties.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">HB448, since it too is a proposed constitutional amendment, needs three-fifths majority support in the Alabama Legislature.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"callout\">\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Ensler, who is seeking the Democratic ticket for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/alabama-lieutenant-governor-candidate-supports-lottery\/\">November lieutenant gubernatorial election<\/a>, says a lottery and tribal casinos could generate $300 million a year for the state. Legalization would also protect consumers who are currently gambling offshore or through local, illegal operations.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">But like SB257, Ensler&#8217;s HB448 has not cleared a committee. The lottery and tribal gaming bill has sat with the House Economic Development and Tourism Committee since its Feb. 12 introduction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/will-referendum-alabama-lottery-casinos-sports-betting-reach-voters\/\">Will Referendum on Alabama Lottery, Casinos, and Sports Betting Reach Voters?<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\">Casino.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bills in Alabama seeking to authorize forms of gambling have stalled The Alabama Constitution needs to be amended to permit any new form of gambling Alabama&#8217;s tribal casinos only offer electronic-based bingo machines Legislation in Alabama to allow the public to weigh in on whether a lottery, casino gambling, and sports betting are authorized is&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":495,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=493"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":496,"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493\/revisions\/496"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cerulepillar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}