Time winding down for Alabama to pass bill opening door to legal casinos, sports betting

Lawmakers in Alabama are hoping a Hail Mary can save proposed legislation to legalize casinos, sports betting and a state lottery before the buzzer sounds on the state's legislative session. But with only days remaining, it may take such a miracle as officials are still apparently undecided about the future of legal gambling expansion in Alabama.

Lawmakers are considering two separate approaches to expand legal gambling in Alabama. While neither proposal involves the legalization of real money online casino apps, it could pave the way for such authorization down the road.

In the Senate, Sen. Merika Coleman introduced a bill that would put the decision in Alabama voters' hands to legalize a state lottery, in-person casino gaming and sports betting. The legislation, if voters approve, would create a constitutional amendment to allow for a framework to regulate commercial casinos and sports wagering.

Meanwhile, the House has a bill from Rep. Phillip Ensler known as the "Clean Lottery Act." This proposal is more focused on creating a state lottery system rather than other forms of legal gambling. Ensler has noted that narrowing the scope would help avoid political hurdles that have frequently resulted in past gambling proposals stall out.

The House bill would divide lottery revenue in three ways: direct rebate checks for state residents, funding for public education, and financial support for public health programs. Customers could then find their favorite fastest payout online casino.

While legislators are putting in the effort to expand legal gambling in Alabama, neither proposal has made much headway. Coleman's bill remains in a Senate committee, while the lottery-only proposal hasn't even been presented to a House committee.

That does not bode well for the two bills as the Alabama state legislature is expected to adjourn as early as March 27. Unless miracle movement occurs for either piece of legislation, it's more than likely that both bills will fall well short of passage and online casinos of any type, including ones with a no deposit bonus, won't be available..

It would not be surprising to see lawmakers revitalize these efforts again, though, as Alabama has seen proposals to authorize regulated in-person gaming, sports betting and lottery gaming in each of the previous two years.

What is more certain, however, is that if Alabama ever wants to legalize online casino games for real money in the future, lawmakers will undoubtedly need to have a regulatory framework in place for land-based casino gaming.

Grant Lucas