Alabama Sports Betting and Casino Plan Stalls

The Alabama sports betting and casino plan stalled in the House of Representatives. Also, it looked like it would not pass this year. Governor Kay Ivey’s endorsement didn’t help the bill to progress in the legislative.

According to House Speaker Mac McCutcheon, the plan didn’t get enough votes. It needed to get at least three-fifths majority to amend the constitution. Thus, it required bipartisan support from the House and Senate.

According to sports betting platform experts, the current session would end on May 7. It would return on May 17. The House Speaker said that there was not enough time to pass the bill during the last day.

Alabama Sports Betting and Casino Plan

Even if the House passed the bill on the 17th, it would go through committee-level hearings to compromise with the Senate. The Senate passed a three-bill package for casinos and the lottery on April 13.

According to a sports betting platform for sportsbooks, another bill would amend the constitution to put the gambling expansion on the ballot. Voters could vote on the issue in November 2022.

Lawmakers tried last-minute negotiations. However, they can’t reach any agreements. According to a political forum, Republican leaders in the House introduced a lottery-only bill after the comprehensive gambling expansion bill stalled. However, they withdrew the proposal after complaints that lawmakers didn’t have time to tackle the bill.

Representative Chris England said that the lottery-only proposal surprised Democrats who have been negotiating the more comprehensive bill. Also, the proposal didn’t go well with the other agreements to go forward.

McCutcheon said that the Republicans didn’t want to mislead the Democrats when they introduced their bill. They introduced the bill because they were running out of time. Also, they claimed that the switch to a lottery-only bill was a way to give voters the chance to vote on it.