Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Leadbetter appeared on Capitol Journal this weekend to speak again about the 2024 legislative session. Among other topics, he detailed the push for legal gambling by members of the House of Representatives, who fell one vote short in the Alabama Senate.

“Well, there was a lot of talk,” he said, “and in the end, I don't think it ever happened. We talked to the Senate, and the talks just continued. In the end, there just wasn't enough time.”

Leadbetter said he firmly believes voters should have a say on gambling, but he's not yet confident the measure will pass after a state-appointed study group looked into it.

The group uncovered hundreds of illegal gambling operations across the state.

“There's a lot of illegal gambling out there,” he said. “I didn't realize it until we had a committee that went around the state looking at what kind of illegal gambling there was and how much. I think people were shocked to find out.”

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He acknowledged that the revenue goes to neighboring states that run lotteries.

“The money is going out of state. Almost half of our counties border other states when it comes to the lottery. So I think voters really want the opportunity to vote. That's one of the things I was trying to do, being a guy who doesn't know anything about gambling.”

“They're all across the state. Every county has some.”

The main problem, Leadbetter said, is that the business is unregulated.

“You know, there are a lot of different things that happen in these facilities that shouldn't be happening, so we've set up a committee to regulate it and stop it.”

He said Alabamians frequently want stricter laws to combat illegal gambling.

“You hear people say we need stricter laws to enforce it, and this law was pretty strict, but the problem is, there has to be someone to enforce it,” Leadbetter said.

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In addition to staffing shortages, law enforcement in some counties has reportedly been involved in gambling activities.

“In some of these counties, the sheriffs are actually issuing the licenses,” Leadbetter said, “and in one county, the sheriff's brother was the licensee. So it's hard for the county sheriffs to issue the licenses because they don't have the equipment to put the machines up and they don't have the manpower.”

Leadbetter said it's possible the attorney general's office and other prosecutors will increase legal resources to fight illegal gambling in the near future, but without enforcement “nothing's going to change.”

He also predicted an increase in illegal gambling after attempts to pass the bill in 2024 failed.

“There will probably be more illegal gambling after this. The problem we've had is there are a lot of people making money illegally. I think some of it is organized crime. You can see it in the way the establishments are set up. They showed me pictures. So I think this has given them a chance to come clean.”

“Even if we enforce it, we don't know who will enforce it. I would say local people will. Many of them may be involved or involved with people who think it's legal.”

“I know the attorney general said it's all illegal. I think it depends on who you talk to. There are a variety of opinions on that.”

Austin Shipley is a staff writer for Yellow Hammer News.