Gambling might be dead for longer than just the remainder of the 2025 session.
State Sen. President Pro-Tem Garlan Gudger (R-Cullman) said on Thursday that the much-discussed lottery and gambling legislation in the 2025 legislative session had "too few votes to pass" and was "simply too little, too late."
State Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Range), the sponsor of the comprehensive gambling package, told Huntsville radio WVNN's "The Dale Jackson Show" on Monday, "I think we're just right back to where we are" on the issue.
"This will probably be dealt with by local legislation like we've done it in the past and continue to do it," Albritton said.
He continued, "My gut tells me that we're going to have increased gaming and gambling throughout the state, and it's going to continue to grow, and it's going to grow not only illegally, but it's going to grow from the legal sense. I think there are going to be more local bills brought in to authorize, and to clarify, and to protect the gaming that's going on, and it will continue to grow. The state meanwhile will be on the sidelines not doing anything."
The Senate Tourism Committee recently passed a local bill by Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton (D-Greensboro) legalizing historical horse racing gambling machines in Greene County. The bill passed the Senate in 2023 and 2024 but wasn't passed by the House. It hasn't come up for a vote yet in the Senate in the 2025 session.
"The local legislation, I'm not in favor of that because that creates what we have now, what's the technical term? A discombobulation maybe of the law so it makes enforcement hugely difficult and time consuming both in the street of shutting it down of identifying, and then in the legal level in particular. Until we get rid of not only the 18 or 19 (local constitutional amendments), repeal those and prevent those from coming in, that's what we're going to have. That's what's going to be controlling," Albritton said.
He continued, "We've got a local bill floating now that's coming up and those that were voting no on mine are going to walk on that because it's a local bill."
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