Albritton elaborates on 'no' vote, citing failure to address sports, online and PCI gambling

State Sen. Greg Albritton joined Alabama Public Television’s Capitol Journal last week to discuss his ‘no’ vote on 2024 gaming legislation that he originally helped to craft this session.

“Three particular aspects of the conference report that came out are just unpalatable for me to stand in support of it,” Albritton (R-Atmore) explained.

“First off, this bill did not include all the gambling that’s going on in Alabama. The significant parts that I’m talking about there is sports gaming. Sports gaming is all over the place. It’s on the phone, it’s on TV, it’s on the radio. You hear the odds online. When you check the plays, it has the odds listed. Gaming is growing, it’s intensifying.”

“That’s not in this bill at all,” Albritton said. “It’ll be a wild west in Alabama.”

“Alabama has the largest sports gaming in the nation and we simply chose not to deal with it.”

“As I’ve said, it’s growing and affecting all age groups, minors in particular, all the way up. Why particular members simply don’t want to deal with it, don’t want to control it, don’t want to limit it, is surprising to me.”

Another issue Albritton had with the final version of the legislation was its failure to address online gaming.

“Whether it be poker or whatever other type is available on phone and on online. That is not dealt with in the bill either. So we had two significant growing parts of this industry that was left completely unregulated in this bill, and if we were going to do it, we’d have to have do this whole thing over again with another CA.”

“So those two things were difficult.”

Albritton, who voted in favor of the House-Senate compromise as a member of the conference committee, voted no on the bill Tuesday night, citing concerns from his constituents, the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.

“In all previous excursions down this path there was always the attempt to enter into a compact with PCI that would provide them another site, not a reservation site, but an actual site that’s taxed and dealt with as the normal industry would with any other in Alabama. That was cut out. That was just eliminated. Not only that, but it was eliminated from the governor to be able even able to negotiate anything with PCI in that regard. They were limited in the things that they could do.”

“Those things simply made it unpalatable.”

He noted that PCI has not supported any bill so far that Alabama has brought forward.

“They have their own reasons and so you’ll have to talk to them about that,” Albritton said. “But as far as my concern was, as long as we had PCI with an opportunity to participate in the industry, in which they are experts in Alabama – that was unpalatable and I think unfair.”

He explained that the bills could still be brought up for consideration during the session, but not without an understanding from Senate leadership that HB151, the constitutional amendment, has the three-fifths majority votes to pass.

“I don’t think that would be brought back up unless we have the necessary votes to pass them.”

Albritton said that his no vote didn’t come as a surprise to his fellow legislators.

“I was open with with my colleagues on what my position was early on. When we went down the path that I felt was difficult. I told them this was how difficult that would be and where that would push me. It was my obligation I felt to send it out of the conference committee so we can get it on the floor. But the leadership and others and conference members knew what my vote was coming out of there.”

He said that he doesn’t foresee a special session being called by Governor Kay Ivey to push the legislation over the line. Tuesday will be Day 28 of the 2024 state legislative session.

Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News.