The Alabama Gambling Law
by Mike McClanahan
CBS 42 News
2007-11-07 20:00:00.0
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Prize, chance and consideration are the three basic components of an illegal gambling operation. In most Alabama counties gambling is a crime, but there are places where you can place a bet with no fear of arrest...only if you're betting on dogs or horses.
Gambling took off when the first race tracks in Alabama opened decades ago. Groups in other states would regularly charter buses to Greene Track in Greene County. That was back in the 80’s and it was the only game in town. Those times have changed. Peri-mutuel dog tracks in Mobile, Macon, Greene and Jefferson Counties all offer live or simulcast greyhound and horse racing.
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Competition for betting dollars is fierce, and it doesn't stop at the state line. The Georgia lottery has taken in $30 billion over the last 14 years. Florida's lottery also pulls down about a billion every year.
"Mississippi has increased their casino capacity. So we've got Mississippi to the west with casinos. We've got Tennessee to the north with a lottery, we've got Georgia to the east with a lottery, and we've got Florida below us with a lottery and casinos."
Monty Ballard represents Birmingham Race Course owner Milton McGregor. He says dog and horse racing is not the draw it once was. Track owners are constantly seeking new attractions.
What the Birmingham Race Course does not have, what owner Milton McGregor wants, is electronic bingo, which anti-gambling lobbyists have labeled the "crack-cocaine" of gambling.
They've been found in small businesses, even gas stations scattered across the state-often in counties where their legal status is still being debated. Gary Palmer of the Alabama Policy Institute, which studies issues like gambling, shakes his head.
"What would be the point? Our laws already prevent it, the people voted down a lottery. I think the people that would support a referendum are the people who have the most to gain from it; that would be the gambling industry and the people they control in the legislature," said Palmer.
Some research shows cities with legal gambling report high bankruptcy rates, crime rates and even domestic violence cases. No matter where you stand on the issue, unseen forces can influence the debate. Gambling money trickles and sometimes pours into politics at every level. The culprit is special interests.
Professor of Tax Law Susan Pace Hamil says to keep special interests out of the debate the state needs to answer this question.
“Do we have gambling at all, or if we do how do we allow it and allow all of the local government’s access to that answer? We haven't done that. What we have is this back door some local governments have been able to take advantage of some gambling, whereas others have not without any sort of statewide answer and I don't think that is fair. It's consistent and it's certainly not promoting good public policy in the state of Alabama," said Pace Hamil.
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