MONTGOMERY, Ala. — as the House of Representatives approved a sweeping gambling proposal with an aim to get the measure before voters in November.to allow up to 10 casino sites with table games and slot machines, a state lottery, and to allow sports betting at in-person locations and through online platforms. It would also authorize the governor to negotiate a compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.
“It's been a quarter of a century that we've denied our people the right to vote on this issue,” Republican Rep. Andy Whitt, a co-sponsor of the bill, said. The legislation says a new Alabama Gaming Commission would issue licenses for up to seven casinos, reserving six for Jefferson, Greene, Macon, Mobile, Lowndes and Houston counties. A final licensed site, contingent upon a negotiated compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, would give the tribe a license to open a casino — in addition to the three existing tribal sites — on non-tribal land in the northeast corner of the state near the Georgia state line.