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The Alabama Gaming bill, which was tweaked by the Senate and passed in the House, has stalled in the Senate. 

On Tuesday, the Senate put HB 151 to a vote that came to 20-15, just one vote short of the two-thirds majority vote. However, the bill isn’t dead yet. Because the bill is a constitutional amendment and the Senate carried the vote over the bill now needs a second majority vote. 

The Alabama legislature sessions are live-streamed from the official website at https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/live-stream. 

There are four legislative days to vote in the session. If the Senate can get the vote passed before the legislature adjourns, then there is still a chance that HB 151 could pass. But what does it mean for the bill to pass? 

A ‘Yea’ vote by the state legislature would put the bill on the ballot for voters to make the decision. 

The bill, if passed, creates a constitutional amendment to allow certain forms of gambling, a statewide lottery and an expanded compact with the Poarch Creek Indians. Funds from the lottery would be used for the state education fund. Funds from certain gaming revenue can be appropriated for mental health and rural healthcare programs.

The bill also authorizes up to seven casinos with slot machines and electronic gaming. 

The Senate-revised bill does not include sports betting which was initially proposed by the House. It allows for a paper lottery as well as multi-state lotteries like the Mega Millions and the Powerball. 

Both House and Senate representatives for Chambers and Lee County, Representative Debbie Wood, Representative Bob Fincher and Senator Randy Price, all voted yea to the revised bill in their respective chambers, according to public voting records on the Alabama legislature website.