Alabama Senate Blocks Gambling Bill

The Alabama senate blocked two bills which would have re-opened closed electronic bingo casinos increased gambling in the southeastern state.

The bill's sponsor, Democratic Senator Roger Bedford had hoped the bill would tax, regulate and increase the expansion of online bingo casinos in Alabama."This is not about whether you are for gambling or against. It’s whether you think you’re smarter than the public. “If you’re for backroom deals and for campaign cash then vote no," Bedford said in the lead-up to the decision.

The bill's major opponent, Governor Bob Riley had been publicly condemning the bill for many months, stating at a speech in February that "If we shut these down, $675 million that are going into the gambling owners' pockets would come back to be spent at our retail stores, be spent in our schools, be spent all over the state of Alabama. $675 million a year.” Riley has further commented that he feels the bills were “crooked” and that they would give a monopoly to a handful of politically connected casino operators.

Fellow republican, Sen. Ben Brooks backed Riley's claim that the bill was “corrupt,” but has stated that he is not against gambling in Alabama, and that he would support a public vote under different circumstances.

One of the more contentious issues regarding the bill was the $250,000 gambling license requirement, which has been criticized by opponents for being disproportionately low in comparison to required fee in other states.

Following the decision, Bedford has largely and publicly given up on the bill. “I think this issue is over,” Bedford stated after the vote.

An unconvinced Rev. Dan Ireland, director of the anti-gambling Alabama Citizen Action Program has stated that he expects the bills reappear after a couple of months because, he feels, that there is too much money at stake for casino operators. Ireland said that the big losers would be the people of Alabama.

"We are not talking about bingo. We are talking about gambling. We are talking about slot machines. All the money coming in is going to come out of the pockets of the losers."