Yellowhammer News held its annual panel discussion Wednesday with the President Pro Tempore of the Alabama Senate and the Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives.

The event, now in its second year of the four-year program, was the second in which pro tem Greg Reed and chair Nathaniel Ledbetter appeared together as leaders of their respective chambers.

With multiple gaming-related bills awaiting introduction; Long-awaited committee action In the Alabama Senate, Ledbetter said he is proud of how his House members have addressed the issue as it moves forward, “for and against,” and that this policy It originated in the House of Representatives.

Pro Tem Reid said the “vast majority” of the chamber wanted to do something with “tweaks and changes” from members.

“My first year as chair, I had someone come in probably every week and talk to me about the local CA.” [constitutional amendment] When it comes to games, we talk about comprehensive planning, and we don't talk about lottery tickets,” Chairman Ledbetter said.

Around that time, Mr. Ledbetter appointed a special committee of members of the House of Representatives to: measure the spread Monitor illegal operations and research the latest opportunities in the legal gaming environment.

Related: Alabama House promotes legal gaming, educational lottery, and statewide voting

“A year from now, if you go to different locations, there will probably be 1,000 locations listed,” he said.

Ledbetter said Alabama is a state where fraudulent scratch-off tickets can be purchased at gas stations, 1.5 million people bet on last year's Super Bowl, and organized crime groups are expanding their presence through illegal activities. Ta.

“This state is in the most complicated mess when it comes to gaming than anything I've seen since I've been on the job, and all we're trying to do is fix it. ” said the speaker. “So we're going from hundreds of facilities down to six facilities that the state can regulate. You hear people say, 'He's going to build 10 new facilities.' ,It is different.

Ultimately, Ledbetter helped restart the gaming issue in the 2024 session, but said the House has fulfilled its responsibility for now.

Related: “Fact vs. Fiction” Q&A with Representative Chris Blackshear on the Alabama House Gaming Bill of 2024

“I had some people in my office this afternoon who helped draft the bill, and they asked me, 'What do we need to do?'” he said. “I said, 'We don't have to do anything. It's in the Senate, leave it to them.' And when it's done, we're still going to look at it.”

Reed said lawmakers were still in the Alabama Capitol Wednesday night working on just that.

“As you have heard, the Speaker is doing a great job in the chamber and trying to move forward,” he said. “I can tell you from the feedback I've gotten on the floor that the majority of our chamber wants to pass legislation that can regulate, control, and change penalties, eliminate illegal activity, and provide certification. That means we can collect what's happening elsewhere and be able to understand and manage what's happening related to Alabama games.

Related: Ivey supports legal gambling and voting on state lottery: 'It's time for Alabama voters to have a different voice'

“Well, the devil is always in the details,” he said. “And in terms of the chairman, he and I had a great conversation. I think they were smart to consider this issue. They led strongly, which is well-deserved, and they got a lot of work done. Whatever we try to move forward will become their law, including any tweaks or changes that senators feel they have to make in order to pass the bill. Their laws will apply to us.

“I don’t think the question is, ‘Do we need to do something about it?’ I think the answer is, ‘Absolutely.’ The question is really part and parcel of all these different things.” Whether it's penalties, whether it's the casino, whether it's the lottery, whether it's the lottery, whether it's the governance of the lottery, whether it's enforcement of the terms of the lottery, how they work and how you All sorts of elements that go into detail. It's a very complex topic.

“If not, I've been here 13 years. I've been working on it for at least that long,” Reed said.

“So, it probably could have been done a little faster. But I think the Senate is interested in this process. The feedback we've gotten from members is that they're interested in trying to move something forward. There's actually a group of men and women working on that topic tonight – they're still working on that issue in the state legislature.”

Grayson Everett is the state and politics editor for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @Grayson270