The first gambling bill of the 2026 Legislative Session has dropped.
Senator Merika Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove, is sponsoring gambling legislation that is, if nothing else, unique. Instead of the typical bills that seek to have voters approve specific types of gambling and a lottery, Coleman is proposing to let people vote on a constitutional amendment that would allow the legislature and governor to implement several different types of gambling, a lottery, a compact between the state and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians and a gambling commission.
“This is simply allowing people to say yes or no,” Coleman said of her legislation. “We have some major deficits and it’s going to get worse. We have a duty to find solutions. I’ve seen the polling and the people of my district want an opportunity to vote on whether we have gambling, a lottery. That’s what this bill does – gives them that opportunity.”
It is certainly a unique approach to an issue that has been a consistent problem for state lawmakers, and an issue that has consistently grown in popularity in the state. Most recent polls put approval for all gambling above 60 percent statewide, and when asked if citizens should be allowed to vote on the issue that number swells to beyond 80 percent.
Coleman’s bill would do that and could also seemingly remove one of the biggest obstacles – finding a three-fifths majority that can agree on every detail of a comprehensive bill.
Coleman’s bill would require a three-fifths majority, but her bill is a simple question of whether state lawmakers will allow the citizens to vote on legalizing gambling and a lottery. If approved, it would be placed on a ballot at some point and the citizens could vote it up or down.
If approved by voters, the legislature could then take up the issue in future sessions and create separate bills spelling out regulations for the various aspects. And they could do so without the burden of being required to gain a three-fifths majority for every aspect.
The bill was met with the typical skepticism from the anti-gambling crowd, but it also comes at a time when gambling around the state is a near constant presence in everyone’s lives. It is available through mobile devices and at local casinos, and the state is losing billions of dollars each year by failing to properly regulate and tax it.
“The people have made it clear that this is something that they want,” Coleman said.
