Alabama State Senator Merika Coleman announced plans to introduce a bill next week that would allow voters to decide whether gambling should be legalized in the state. The proposal would authorize a statewide vote on a constitutional amendment permitting the governor to establish a gambling commission and enabling lawmakers to draft legislation to regulate a lottery, gaming, and sports betting.

“Is this something that you want to do — yes or no?” said Coleman, D-Birmingham.

The proposed legislation aims to restart a conversation that has struggled to advance in the Alabama Legislature for years. “This bill simply gives us the ability to come back and actually establish gaming in the state of Alabama. It’s not just the lottery, it’s gaming, it’s sports betting, it’s all of the stuff that folks are talking about,” Coleman told AL.com.

Comprehensive gambling legislation in 2024 passed the House with 70 votes but failed in the Senate by a single vote. That bill had included provisions for a lottery, casinos, sports betting, a compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, and the creation of a gambling commission.

State Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, a previous sponsor of gambling legislation, voted against the measure, remarking in December, “I think we missed the board.”

Although gambling was not initially expected to return to the legislative agenda this session due to the election year, Coleman decided to take the initiative. “Everywhere I go, people are asking, are we going to take this issue up?” she said. “Since nobody else is talking about it, I said, ‘Why not me?’”

Alabama’s Constitution prohibits lotteries, so any effort to authorize one or to expand legal gambling requires a constitutional amendment. Such an amendment must be approved by three-fifths of both legislative chambers, meaning 21 of 35 senators and 63 of 105 representatives, before it can be placed on the ballot.

The last time Alabama voters considered a gambling-related constitutional amendment was in 1999, when a lottery proposal was defeated by a margin of 54% to 46%.

Gov. Kay Ivey has previously supported bringing a comprehensive gambling proposal to the public. Five years ago, she commissioned a study that concluded the state could benefit financially from legalized gambling.

“All of this gaming money is now going across the borders,” said Coleman, who also serves on the Budget Committee. She pointed to widespread participation by Alabamians in gambling activities in neighboring states.

Coleman cited future budget pressures as a key reason to revisit the issue, including potential federal funding cuts tied to legislation signed into law by President Donald Trump. “We have some major deficits coming at us,” she said. 

“And we’re going to have to figure out where in the world this revenue will come from — ‘27 is going to be hard, but ‘28 is going to be doggone near impossible if we don’t have some type of new revenue.”