Monday, April 02, 2007

MONTGOMERY, Ala. A favorite hot button issue -- gambling -- is back on the
table in the Alabama Legislature. Bills introduced in the Alabama
Legislature today would legalize video bingo games for high stakes at
greyhound racetracks in Birmingham and Mobile. Under the proposal, 20
percent of revenue from the games would go to the state and be earmarked to
fund Medicaid. Lawmakers in recent years have struggled to keep up with the
rising cost of the health care program for low income and elderly residents.
The electronic bingo machines are currently legal at greyhound tracks in
Macon and Greene County because of local laws. The bill would outlaw another
kind of gambling machine, called "sweepstakes games," which have been
popping up across the state. The bills are sponsored by Rep. Marcel Black,
D-Tuscumbia, and Sen. Pat Lindsey, D-Butler. Gambling opponents in the
Legislature said they were studying the proposal, but said they do not like
the idea of allowing the bingo machines in Mobile and Birmingham.