As the Alabama Legislature opened its 2026 session this week, legislative leaders from both chambers signaled that gambling will likely not be part of the agenda, marking a potential pause in a debate that has dominated recent sessions. Senate President Pro Tem Garlan Gudger said support within the Republican caucus appears insufficient to advance a gambling proposal this year. While lawmakers plan to discuss the issue internally later this month, Gudger said his expectations are low.

“We won’t know until our first caucus, which will be 13 January, but we’ll start talking about it, and probably by the end of January we’ll kind of see what is the feel of everyone on that particular subject,” Gudger told AL.com. “But as of right now, if I had to give you my gut feeling, I would say it would not be coming up this year.”

House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter echoed that assessment, saying there is no active gambling proposal in the House and that any effort would need to originate in the Senate. Ledbetter led a comprehensive gambling package in 2024 but said he has not heard renewed interest from Senate leadership. We certainly don’t have anything. It’d have to come out of the Senate, first of all,” Ledbetter said. “And I’ve talked with [Gudger] a number of times and it’s never been mentioned.” The comments suggest that, for the first time in several years, lawmakers may not seriously pursue gambling legislation during a regular session.

A high bar for change

Alabama remains one of five states without a lottery. Any effort to authorize a lottery or expand gambling requires a constitutional amendment, which must be approved by two-thirds of both legislative chambers before going to voters statewide. That threshold has proven difficult to meet. In 2024, Ledbetter’s House-backed package proposed a state lottery, casinos, sports betting, and a compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. The bill passed the House but fell one vote short in the Senate.

State Sen. Greg Albritton, a longtime sponsor of gambling legislation, declined to introduce a proposal in 2025, citing a lack of votes. He has made the same decision for 2026. After last year’s failure, Albritton said the setback could delay progress for decades. One of the central challenges, according to multiple industry sources, has been disagreement over how gambling tax revenue would be allocated among education, healthcare, and other state priorities.

The last time Alabama voters considered a lottery was in 1999, when the proposal failed with 54% voting no and 46% voting yes. The prolonged stalemate has prompted increased engagement from the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, the only federally recognized tribe in Alabama. The tribe operates gaming facilities under federal law and has sought a formal compact with the state. In 2024, the Poarch Band acquired the Birmingham Race Course and hired the lobbying firm Fine Geddie, signaling a more sustained effort to influence legislative outcomes and messaging around gambling expansion.

Governor Kay Ivey has consistently supported allowing voters to decide gambling issues, even as legislative efforts have failed. While she has stopped short of endorsing gambling itself, Ivey has argued that the decision should rest with the public. “I was disappointed that they did not get the gambling bill passed,” Ivey said in 2022 after one such failure. “Not that I am so much for gambling, but I do think the people of Alabama ought to have the right to make that decision.”

In 2020, Ivey created a select committee on gaming, which estimated that a comprehensive gambling package could generate up to $800 million annually in state revenue. Albritton has said that gubernatorial support is critical for any proposal to clear the legislature.

I do think the people of Alabama ought to have the right to make that decision.

Election-year pressure builds

With a gubernatorial election scheduled for November and term limits ensuring a new governor in 2027, gambling has emerged as a campaign issue among potential candidates. Republican U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville said Alabamians should be allowed to vote on gambling after a thorough review of its benefits and drawbacks.

“I think that’s what a governor should do,” Tuberville said on *The Jeff Poor Show*. “Sell the good on both sides to the people in Alabama. And then let people vote on it.” Former Democratic U.S. Sen. Doug Jones said in a social media video that he would push for a state lottery, arguing the state is losing significant revenue to neighboring states. “We’re missing out on millions, hundreds of millions of dollars,” Jones said. “We need to vote on a lottery this year.”

Democratic State Rep. Phillip Ensler, who recently announced a run for lieutenant governor, said he would use the executive office to advance gambling legislation to fund under-resourced programs. “I hear from people all over the state… that say it’s crazy that we don’t have a state lottery,” Ensler told *Alabama Political Reporter*.

Despite growing campaign rhetoric, legislative leaders’ comments suggest gambling will remain sidelined during the 2026 session. Without clear Senate support, and with no sponsor willing to introduce a bill, the issue appears more likely to resurface in the next gubernatorial term than in the months ahead.