Alabama lawmakers ended the legislative session on Thursday without coming to an agreement on a gambling bill after it came to an impasse in the Senate despite easily passing the House. (Taylor Hill/Getty Images)
The bill approved by the House would have allowed a lottery, sports betting and up to 10 casinos with slot machines and table games, but the Senate approved a stricter version that only included a lottery and allowing dog tracks and other sites to have machines where players can bet on replays of horse races.
Senators were more reluctant to approve the idea of slot machines or video poker.
A conference committee proposed a compromise that would have authorized a statewide lottery and slot machines at seven locations in the state, but that also did not win approval in the Senate despite approval in the House.
"It was something that there weren’t votes in the Senate to approve," Republican Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed said of the conference committee proposal. "So that’s where we are."
ALABAMA LAWMAKERS PROPOSE BILL TO INTRODUCE STATE LOTTERY, 10 CASINOS
Alabama does not have a lottery and lawmakers expressed frustration at residents having to purchase scratch-off tickets in other states, which benefit programs elsewhere. (iStock)
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Alabamians have not voted on gambling since 1999, which is when a lottery proposal by then-Gov. Don Siegelman was rejected by voters.
Multiple efforts have been made in the years since then to establish gambling opportunities in the state, but debate over casinos and electronic gambling machines has largely caused the bills to stall.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/alabama-legislative-session-adjourned-without-final-vote-gambling-bill-frustrated