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Whether it was his intention or not, Governor Robert Riley has made gambling a major issue in Alabama over the past year. The debates are only expected to get more heated this week with two of the biggest gambling establishments still closed. VictoryLand and Country Crossings closed after word of a planned gambling raid spread. The raid was to be carried out by Governor Riley’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling. Initially a judge ruled it unconstitutional for the raid to take place, however, a recent court order found that the under state constitution a raid may be legal.
Adding to the drama of the gambling debate, Representative Marcel Black introduced legislation this year that would allow voters to decide whether to legalize and regulate video gambling in Alabama. According to the polls, residents would likely vote in such a legislation in hopes that such legislation would aid in fixing the state’s budget deficit. Alabama was one of the state’s that was largely against expanded gambling, but the economy has changed the minds of many residents and there is statewide dissatisfaction with how the current governor is handling gambling issues.  Many people in Alabama rely on their jobs at VictoryLand and Country Crossings to pay their bills. With the recent closures, these employees are panicky, not knowing whether or not they will be laid off for good and this has changed the minds of many of those who previously would have voted against legalizing gambling.

This week could play a big part in that answer. Legislators are pushing for the Supreme Court to define the gambling that is taking place on the bingo machines.  While all of this is going on, the Governor Riley plans to increase raids to end illegal gambling.  It will be interesting to see if he is successful in keeping gambling out of the state. The big draw is that gambling is known to bring in millions of dollars to state coffers. Since the recession, many states are at a loss of finding ways to generate big dollars and gambling could be just the answer they need to elevate revenues.