Senate leader dashes hopes
Alabama’s bills aiming to legalize gambling, including sports betting, electronic games, and lottery, have died at the hands of Senate President Pro Tem Garlan Gudger.
sports betting does not have the votes”
The leader of the Alabama Senate on Monday issued a statement that “sports betting does not have the votes to pass in the 2025 legislative session.”
Gudger stated that Alabama had multiple more important issues than gambling that required addressing before the legislative session ended.
Not enough
Gudger’s statement dashes the hopes that a gambling bill that failed by just one Senate vote in 2024 would get across the legislative line in 2025. He stated:
simply too little, too late, and has too few votes to pass.”
“With 12 meeting days remaining in the session, both budgets still awaiting approval, and other important bills and measures demanding focus and attention, the comprehensive gaming bill released today is simply too little, too late, and has too few votes to pass.”
Sen. Greg Albritton’s “trimmed down” new bill perhaps had the highest chance of success.
Albritton’s two-fold package introduced last week included a constitutional amendment requiring voter approval and a highly detailed 141-page bill.
Albritton’s plan allowed for legalized online sports betting, a state lottery, and tribal casinos. He admitted, prophetically, that he was still short of votes required to get his bill past the 34-member Senate.
The other bill tossed for 2025 is Rep. Jeremy Gray’s proposal to legalize sports betting and create an Alabama Gaming Commission to regulate the new vertical.
Bleak outlook
Despite Albritton’s downplayed bill, the Senator reacted with frustration in a statement. He stated:
“We’ve been struggling with this for 25-26 years already… I don’t see anything changing.”
Albritton added that it “doesn’t matter what the bills says, period. If the word ‘gaming’ or ‘gambling’ shows up on the page, it’s a ‘no’ vote.”
