The Alabama House of Representatives on Thursday passed two bills that would allow statewide lottery, casino and sports betting in the Yellowhammer state.

Part of the law is a constitutional amendment that must be approved by Alabama voters in the November 2024 general election. The proposed amendment would authorize a statewide educational lottery, traditional lotteries and bingo, casino-style gaming, and sports betting. It also creates a nine-member Alabama Gaming Commission to allow the governor to negotiate agreements with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.

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Recently on WVNN's “The Yaffee Program,” state Rep. Philip Rigsby (R-Monrovia) discussed why he supports a comprehensive gaming package.

“I support this bill because I believe this is a constitutional amendment and people should have the right to vote on it,” Rigsby said. “Now, whether you vote for a good bill or vote against a bad bill, or whatever your beliefs are, I think this is a constitutional issue and the people should take action.'' Please vote for this. ”

Rigsby said gaming laws are needed because illegal gaming is occurring in Alabama.

“(E)cognize that there is a lot of illegal gaming going on and we have to do something to curb it,” he said. “I believe this bill addresses that issue. And I think the people who worked hard to figure it out did a good job putting that bill together.”

The lawmaker also said the state could benefit from additional tax revenue generated by the bill.

“There are a lot of people who think this funding is a good thing because it will help fund some of the problems that we anticipate going forward,” he said. “We are now finding that budgets are stagnant. They are not increasing by record amounts like they have been for the past two years. We are starting to see a flattening of budgets. There's going to be a lot of discussion about funding going forward. This is a production that could potentially add to the pot by putting money in to help with that.”

Yaffee is a contributor to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee