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Alabama Senate Passes Gambling Machine Legislation
The Alabama Senate narrowly passed legislation Thursday that would close down large adult arcades and allow dog tracks to add gambling machines with unlimited cash prizes.
The 18-17 vote sends the bill to the House, where proponents and opponents expect an equally close vote in the closing days of the legislative session. "If this bill is successful, we'll have law enforcement throughout the state closing arcades," said the bill's sponsor, Sen. Gerald Dial, D-Lineville.
Lt. Gov. Steve Windom, who wanted to ban all gambling machines, called it "a sad day for Alabama. Not only have we passed gambling in the Senate, but we've passed it on the 50th anniversary of the National Day of Prayer."
A 1996 state law has allowed businesses to have gambling machines that offer up to $5 in gift certificates per play. Initially, bars, restaurants and convenience stores offered a few of the machines, but after South Carolina banned gambling parlors last year, adult arcades began springing up all over the state.
Dial's legislation would close adult arcades by limiting the gambling machines to no more than four per business, with the prize limit set at $5 in gift certificates per play. Dog tracks in Macon, Greene, Jefferson and Mobile counties could have an unlimited number of the machines with unlimited cash prizes.
The legislation prohibits video poker and slot machines and prohibits use of the machines by anyone under 18 years old. The Senate passed the bill after proponents won a 21-14 vote to cut off a filibuster by opponents. That was the minimum number of votes needed to end a filibuter.
If the bill passes the House, it would not become law until signed by Gov. Don Siegelman. Paul Hamrick, the governor's chief of staff, said the governor had not studied the bill in detail, but he likes the idea of closing the arcades and limiting large installations of the machines to dog tracks.
Montgomery Sheriff D.T. Marshall said he hopes the bill becomes law. "It's the poor folks affected by arcades. It's not rich folks spending their money," he said.
If the bill becomes law, opponents said they will immediately challenge it in court, based on an advisory opinion last week from four of the nine justices on the Alabama Supreme Court. The justices said most gambling machines are unconstitutional in Alabama because they rely on chance. "It's flawed and it's unconstitutional," said John Giles, state director of the Christian Coalition.
Dial's legislation does not levy any taxes on the gambling machines, but a separate bill is pending in the House that would require the machine operators to pay 10 percent to the state and 5 percent to the local governments where the machines are located.
SOURCE: Associated Press
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