The sleight of hand in Alabamas gambling politics – AL.com

If the devil went down to Georgia in the 1950s, he probably wouldnt have made it past Phenix City, Alabama. The city on the western bank of the Chattahoochee River offered a level of vice that would make Las Vegas blush. Gambling, illegal booze, drugs, and prostitution were commonplace. Babies were even for sale. The bedlam culminated in 1954 when organized crime assassinated Albert Patterson, the Democratic nominee to become Alabamas attorney general. Todays gambling debates seem tame by comparison, so its easy to miss the political sleights of hand.

The first illusion is that all gambling is the same and ought to be addressed by one piece of legislation. In truth, there are three main issues: a lottery, class III or casino-style gaming, and sports betting. Combining them is a political tool to push through bad policies with more popular ones. On a simple up-or-down basis, each of the three issues probably draws enough support to become law. The details and political wrangling are where it gets messy.

A state-run lottery is an absolute failure of sound governance. For as inept as government can be, it must not knowingly harm citizens. Regardless of politics, that should be a minimum threshold for the role of government in society.

We engage in plenty of activities that arent good for us because theyre entertaining or enjoyable. Through government we make decisions about what activities we want to allow, regulate, or outright prohibit. Like tobacco and alcohol, the potential harms of gambling abuse are well documented, and theyre largely borne by lower-income individuals and families. While regulatory constraints are significant, the state doesnt own, operate and market distilleries or tobacco manufacturing facilities.

Just imagine a state-owned cigarette company using public resources to advertise smoking, downplay its harms, and suggest that people should smoke more for the children. If you think thats nuts, so is a state-run lottery.

If Alabama must scratch an itch for lottery tickets, it should consider private lotteries and tax them. Most people dont know that private lotteries were actually commonplace in America in the 17th and 18th centuries. Lottery operators could compete on odds for the benefit of players, and its a lot easier to regulate them in the 21st century than it was in the past. The social harms still exist, but at least the government isnt an active participant.

Casino-style gaming is a different animal with a patchwork of regulations across the United States. Only Louisiana and Nevada allow casino-style gambling statewide, but about half the states in America allow some form of commercial casino-style gambling and a few more allow it on tribal lands only.

For decades, the state and various other gambling operators have battled over which gaming activities are legal. The most contentious issue has been over slot machine look-alikes. Since charitable bingo is permitted in Alabama, gaming operators have long argued theyre offering lighting fast games of electronic bingo in a format which is effectively indistinguishable from an illegal slot machine. The issue became so ridiculous that the Alabama Supreme Court issued a six-part test defining bingo. Over the years, law enforcement has seized machines VictoryLand, Greenetrack, and others resulting in serious expenses on both sides of the issue.

Legalizing casino-style gaming would allow operators to drop the act. Opening up fully-functioning casinos can be quite profitable, and its even more so if Alabamas government kills off potential competition. Anyone who has an inside-track to land one of the initial casino operator licenses will fight to keep that circle as tight as possible, and its easy to understand why.

This is where the political games ramp up. The state could give the Poarch Band of Creek Indians a monopoly on casino gambling in the state. It might expand it to existing gaming and racing facilities. But whats the rationale for preventing others from being able to compete as well? The current legislative excuse seems to be, We dont want it everywhere. If thats all the political class has to offer, then the process for limited casino operator licenses should be competitive. Otherwise, its legislators picking economic winners and losers from the word go. Like Mississippi, Alabama should also give local governments a voice in approving or disapproving casino locations.

The last piece of the gambling puzzle is sport betting. Limiting sports betting to physical casinos in Alabama is possibly the most egregious home cooking Alabama politics has produced in a while. There is no reason to require a physical presence to place a bet on a sporting event. The fig leaf from proponents of the provision will be reducing addictive gambling that could happen if online sports books were open. Dont buy it. Its just routing the money hose to the incumbents.

Perhaps the most important sleight of hand to spot is the political pressure campaign suggesting that this is Alabamas last chance to expand gambling options. Nobody should believe that for even a second. There is certainly a path for expanding gambling in Alabama, but it shouldnt be rigged in favor of folks a select few who have flaunted state law for decades.

Cameron Smith is CEO of the Triptych Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit. The Triptych Foundation promotes a virtuous society through investments in socially impactful media and business. He was recently executive director of the Republican Policy Committee in the United States House of Representatives. You can reach him at cameron@smithstrategies.org.

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The sleight of hand in Alabamas gambling politics - AL.com