Alabama Legislator Taking New Approach To Legalizing Sports Betting

Alabama State Senator Merika Coleman is asking her colleagues to channel their inner Doobie Brothers when it comes to the expansion of gambling in the state. She believes that Alabama should be taking it to the streets when it comes to determining whether the people want this to happen.

Coleman has introduced Senate Bill 227 (SB 257), which is a gambling expansion bill. If passed into law, the bill would legalize sports betting, casino gambling, and a state lottery in Alabama.

The bill would also create a compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians and a commission to regulate gambling in the state.

SB 257 is a proposed constitutional amendment. That means it would require the approval of three-fifths of senators and representatives for it to go forward. Then it would go to voters for approval.

In 2024, a bill that would’ve legalized gambling in Alabama fell one vote short of approval. Coleman cites polling data that suggests 70% of the people in Alabama would approve of the legalization of gambling in the state.

Coleman’s bill would ultimately put the decision in the hands of the people

Of her bill, Coleman told Al.com that ”it’s just simply asking the public – do you want us to take up this issue?”

“My goal was to have a clean lottery bill that just asked the people of the state of Alabama – do you want us to come back and actually work on a bill?” Coleman said. “And that’s what it does. It’s a constitutional amendment.

“So it gives the Legislature and the governor the ability to devise the commission. It also would give us the ability to come back and do some regulations on sports betting, both in-person and online, in addition to in-person casino gaming.

“It also allows the governor to come back if she so chooses to go into a compact with the Poarch Creek Indians.”

Alabama’s state government requires additional revenue

Coleman sees the legalization of gambling as an avenue the state can take to recoup some of the lost federal revenue due to cuts to programs made by the Trump Administration.

“At the end of the day, for me, this is about revenue,” Coleman said.

“We have some major deficits that are coming up next year with DHR, Medicaid, and other social services that people are relying on us in the state of Alabama to be able to help them move to self-sufficiency and, in some cases, health care.

“And it is our responsibility as lawmakers to do what we can do in order to provide those services. And so this is my contribution to trying to get this revenue here without putting a tax on the citizens of the state of Alabama.”

At the same time, Coleman, a Democrat, has been around the state political scene long enough to recognize that the legalization of gambling remains a hard sell with many Republicans.

“The problem that we have in the Legislature, even for the 20-something years I’ve been here, it’s always the details,” Coleman said.

“That’s where we get bogged down.”

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