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State Sen. Albritton warns Mississippi Choctaw, Florida Seminole tribes could get ‘involved’ in Alabama gambling debate

Despite long odds, State Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Atmore) insists he will still bring some type of gambling legislation during the regular session currently underway in Montgomery.

Gambling faces the usual obstacles: a higher threshold for a constitutional amendment in the Alabama Legislature, opposition from Republicans who are against gambling for moral or religious reasons, and opposition from Democrats seeking to protect local gaming in Democrat-represented areas.

However, Albritton warns opposition to gaming could come from beyond Alabama’s borders in the form of gaming-aligned entities, including the Choctaw tribe in Mississippi and the Seminoles in Florida, which is similar to the opposition Alabama faced in 1999, the last time lottery was put up on the ballot for a vote.

“You’ve got those points — one, two and three,” he said. “But don’t leave out four, five and six, which is the Choctaws in Mississippi, the Seminoles in Florida and the interests in Georgia. All of those are involved with this. They have interests in what we do and how we do it. And so, those are factors that come into play, also … MGM, Harrah’s — all of those.”

Albritton added, “Remember, my bill would not only take into the ones that we’ve talked about but also take control of the gaming aspects going on, the sports gaming, the online gaming, the fantasy gaming — all of that would come under what I’m proposing.”

@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly, and host of Mobile’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on FM Talk 106.5.

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