Vegas-style casinos are a likely outcome but not a requirement to keep gambling in Alabama exclusively under American Indian control, according to Robert McGhee, vice chair of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians (PCI).
PCI has offered the state a $250 million “economic bailout plan” as part of a proposed compact (agreement) between the state and the tribe that would grant them exclusive rights to manage gambling in Alabama.
“In terms of an agreement, a compact with the governor or Legislature, most of the time it is to do exclusive rights to those games. Class III is an exclusive right that is usually agreed to when we’re able to give you a revenue share,” McGhee said.
McGhee said the specifics of any agreement, including an expansion to Class III table games and slot machines, would have to be worked out between the two entities. “We would have to determine what is the best way to get to the goal the state has,” McGhee said.
“We would have to look at all options the governor would propose to see what was beneficial for both governments.”
Budget shortfall
Several proposals are under consideration to fix Alabama’s budget shortfall. Lawmakers so far have rejected Gov. Robert Bentley’s proposal to raise revenue through taxes.
In April, Sen. Del Marsh, president pro tem of the Senate, proposed an amendment to the state constitution that would clear the way for Class III gambling in Alabama and create a statewide lottery (see story, page 3).
The Senate’s Tourism and Marketing Committee approved Marsh’s bill May 14, sending it to the full Senate for a vote. A late effort to add the former Country Crossing site in Houston County to the bill failed.
Marsh’s bill would require approval by three-fifths of members of the Senate and House of Representatives to pass the Legislature.
If the bill is successful a statewide vote in September would determine the ultimate outcome.
The Senate’s effort comes as the House works on its own budget proposal. On May 14 the Alabama House Ways and Means General Fund Committee approved a budget that would cut funding for vital services including Medicaid, mental health and prisons. The House was set to vote on that budget plan May 19.
At a May 14 press conference, Bentley responded to both legislative actions. Bentley said he does not support Marsh’s bill and doesn’t think many legislators do either.
“I don’t think there’s much of an appetite in the senators right now for gambling, but they have been talking about it,” Bentley said.
Bentley also said he would veto the House budget put forward, calling it an “austere budget” and “unacceptable.”
“It’s irresponsible, it’s unworkable, it hurts the people of Alabama,” Bentley said.
Bentley also said a special legislative session looks “more likely” as the regular session moves toward a close.
A spokesperson for Marsh said the senator “does not support giving a monopoly to one group.” Several requests for comment from Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard went unanswered, but other media outlets have reported that his intent is to limit gambling in the state to electronic bingo.
Fate of gambling
The fate of electronic bingo in the state still could hinge on a lawsuit brought by Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange that is pending in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. The state’s suit in Alabama v. PCI Gaming Authority asks the court to decide whether casinos operated by PCI in Wetumpka, Montgomery and Atmore are in fact operating on federal trust land.
The case also asks the court to interpret whether the state has authority on tribal lands to enforce a 2014 Alabama Supreme Court ruling which found that electronic bingo machines do not meet the traditional definition of bingo games and therefore are illegal under Alabama law.
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