Gaming Expansion An Increasingly Hot Topic In The Southern US

But sports betting isn’t the only gaming expansion states are looking to for extra revenue.  Casino expansion has become a hot topic in a number of states, particularly in southern states that have thus far resisted the siren calls of casino gambling.

Three states, Kentucky, Georgia, and Alabama, have shed their anti-gambling skins and are suddenly strong candidates to drastically expand gambling within their borders. What remains unseen is whether these states will also look at online sports betting and online gambling for more revenue.

Kentucky

Editor Update: Kentucky sports betting was legalized in early 2023.

Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear made gaming a policy point in his successful gubernatorial run, and his opponent, incumbent Matt Bevin, decided to make it a major issue.

Based on the results, it’s safe to say Kentuckians are ok with gaming expansion in the Bluegrass State.

And with Churchill Downs making a push into the realm of legal sports betting with its BetAmerica sports betting site, Kentucky is likely to push for a major expansion that includes casinos, sports betting, and perhaps online gambling, considering Kentucky is one of roughly a dozen states that has an online lottery. Although, as we’ve seen in Michigan, an existing online lottery can be a hurdle for other forms of online gambling.

The outlook in Kentucky is unclear, but conventional wisdom dictates that what Churchill Downs wants, is what the state will get.

Georgia

Georgia has been inching towards casino gambling in recent years, and if a trio of recent House Ways and Means Committee hearings is any barometer, 2020 could be the year.

Of course, if it were that easy, Georgia would have already legalized casinos.

Standing in the way of Georgia sports betting, casinos, and horseracing is the need for a 2/3 majority in both chambers to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot – and then it would still have to pass muster with voters.

And like Kentucky, Georgia is an online lottery state, which makes it a double-edged sword. On the one hand, Georgia is already reaping some of the benefits of expanded gambling (and online gambling at that), but on the other hand, the lottery could prove to be a roadblock to other forms of gambling in the state.

Alabama

In Alabama, the Poarch Band of Creek Indians has put forth a proposal that would give the tribe exclusive rights to casino gambling and lottery in the state.

As reported by the Alabama News Network, “The proposed plan would include a clean, traditional lottery and two additional hotels/casinos with unlimited gaming. It also includes a one-time $225 million payment to the state for exclusive gaming rights,” and includes ongoing revenue sharing with the state.

The Poarch Band of Creek Indians already operates several “casinos” in Alabama, as well as the Wind Creek Resort Bethlehem (nee Sands Bethlehem) in Pennsylvania. The tribe’s Alabama casinos only offer Class II gaming machines, which in layman’s terms is video bingo machines that look like slot machines.

Not surprisingly, there is strong opposition to the idea of sports betting in Alabama. And unlike the previous two states outlined above, Alabama has close to zero experience with legal gambling of any kind, never mind online gambling. At the end of the day, if Alabama does expand gambling, online might be a bridge too far for the ultra-conservative state.