MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – A proposal to institute a state lottery narrowly cleared its first hurdle in the Alabama Legislature on Tuesday and could head to a floor vote later this week.
The Senate Tourism and Marketing Committee voted 6-5 to advance the bill by Republican Sen. Greg Albritton of Atmore. The legislation as introduced specified that a lottery would be played with paper tickets, including instant tickets and multi-state lottery games, and would not allow video lottery terminals which can resemble slot machines.
“This is a paper lottery,” Albritton said. “I just don’t think the people of Alabama want to be little Nevada,” Albritton said.
The lottery proposal reignited the longstanding rivalries over electronic gambling. Some senators said they wanted to see video lottery terminals allowed at state dog tracks. The Poarch Band of Creek Indians, which operate three bingo casinos, opposed another bill that would allow the slot machine lookalikes at locations around the state.
“I think we need to be dealing with electronic,” said Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro. “We need to do a complete lottery that will grow and get the maximum amount of dollars that we possibly can for the state of Alabama.”