Buying in: Re-Evaluating Alabama's Prohibition against Lotteries and Commercial Gaming
![handle is hein.journals/cumlr51 and id is 459 raw text is: BUYING IN: RE-EVALUATING ALABAMA'S
PROHIBITION AGAINST LOTTERIES AND
COMMERCIAL GAMING
BEN BROWN*
I. INTRODUCTION
Alabama is the only state in the southeastern United States without
some form of state-sponsored gambling.' While many of its regional
neighbors have adopted differing forms of state-sponsored gambling,
Alabama remains rigid in its prohibition against it.2 States throughout
the Southeast-Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, Flor-
ida, Texas, Louisiana, and now Mississippi-all have legalized lotter-
ies.3 Conversely, a state-sponsored lottery remains illegal in Alabama.4
Other states within the region have adopted state-sponsored casino
gambling. For example, Mississippi has offered state-sponsored casino
gambling for decades.5 With a firm prohibition against it, Alabama
remains an outlier amongst its regional neighbors in its approach to-
ward state-sponsored gambling.
Despite its prohibition against state-sponsored gambling, Alabama
is not a state without gambling completely.6 For example, gambling at
casinos on tribal Native American land within Alabama borders is le-
gal.7 The state possesses no authority over gambling on these tribal
lands.8 Also, dog racing, an activity that many would classify as
*J.D., Cumberland School of Law, 2021. B.S. in Civil Engineering, Auburn University,
2016.
1 Joseph L. Lester, How to Legally Gamble in the Bible Belt, 41 CUMB. L. REv. 491, 491
(2011).
2 Id (citing George Altman, Gov. Bob Riley's Office: Anti-Gambling Task Force Can
Raid Country Crossing, AL.COM (Jan. 20, 2010), https://www.al.com/live/2010/01/
gov _bob rileysofficeanti-gam.html [https://perma.cc/JQ66-XZ7M]).
3 Id; Bobby Harrison, Lottery Exceeding Expectations in Mississippi, Thus Far, Miss.
TODAY (Feb. 13, 2020), https://mississippitoday.org/2020/02/13/lottery-exceeding-expec-
tations-in-mississippi-thus-far/ [https://perma.cc/L7L6-CRS3].
4 Lester, supra note 1, at 491.
5 Id; Harrison, supra note 3.
6 Lester, supra note 1, at 491.
7 Id at 498 (discussing casinos operated within Alabama by the Poarch Creek Indians).
8 Id](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/cumlr51&div=19&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Buying in: Re-Evaluating Alabama's Prohibition against Lotteries and Commercial Gaming
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