NBA Hall of Famer and native Alabaman Charles Barkley has expressed interest in ownership of a casino in the Yellowhammer State, should a gaming bill pass during this legislative session.
Bama, Barkley & Betting
Alabama native, Auburn University basketball superstar and NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley has never been shy about sharing his love of gambling. He estimates he has lost somewhere in the neighborhood of $25 million throughout his life. Nevertheless, he has expressed a willingness to get on the other side of the equation by becoming a majority owner in an Alabama casino should the opportunity arise.
When asked directly about his interest, Barkley shot back, “Hell yeah. I would love to be part of it.”
Senator Bobby Singleton has given his full support for an African American investment group to take majority ownership of a casino development, and Barkley would be a face everyone in Alabama would recognize.
“I support gaming in the state 100%,” Singleton said Thursday. “I have been in conversation with the potential sponsor, and one of the things I’ve asked for in the bill for us to fully support it is some African American ownership — not just people working in the place. Because it’s my people who walk through those doors more frequently than anyone else, we should at least have some ownership so that we could also be good corporate citizens in our communities.”
Gaming Legislation on the Table
Alabama is one of the five states without a state lottery, along with Alaska, Hawaii, Utah and Nevada. Unlike the other four states, Nevada has virtually every other form of gambling but has spurned a state lottery in deference to the gaming companies, whose revenues would be adversely impacted by the additional layer of competition that a lottery would pose.
Alabama is also one of the few states that is not only devoid of a lottery but has yet to pass legislation permitting commercial casinos, Class III tribal casinos with slots and table games, as well as online and retail sports betting.
However, the tide may be turning in Alabama, and it’s not crimson but the color of money. Senator Greg Albritton is at the vanguard of the movement and has recently filed gaming legislation that would include the following:
- Permits six additional Class II gambling sites at each of the racetracks in Jefferson, Macon, and Mobile counties and bingo halls in Greene, Macon, and Houston counties in addition to the three currently active on the Poarch Creek’s federally recognized land.
- Permits sports betting “whether in-person on the premises of the licensee’s gaming establishment or through an individually branded sports wagering platform website and an associated mobile application bearing the same brand name.”
- Sets a 24% tax rate on net revenue from games of chance and sports bets.
- The bill would also establish an Alabama Gaming Commission and, within it, a Gaming Enforcement Division for all gambling except the state lottery, which would be governed by the creation of the Alabama Lottery Corporation.
Should the bill achieve the requisite majority in both chambers, the amendment would be voted on by the electorate in a special election in September. However, passage will be difficult this session with an election looming in 2026. Nevertheless, Alabama appears to be warming to gambling in some form, whether that’s sooner or later.
