It’s silly the way some people in this state talk about gambling donations.
To listen to political ads and some lawmakers, you’d think this was the 1930s and Bugsy and Rocco were making shady backroom deals by openly contributing to various politicians – the same as any other business or corporation in the country.
Some of the most profitable, well-known and respected companies in America today are gambling entities. Some of the biggest investors in the world are doing business with them. The president owned casinos. His kids are working for various gambling companies.
But here in Alabama, every other day there’s a story about some politician whining about an opponent accepting “gambling money.” And my favorite – whining about “dark gambling money.”
In the meantime, Alfa is over here running hundreds of thousands of dollars through sketchy mystery companies registered in Wyoming and one of the candidates for attorney general of the state has taken a seven-figure donation from a C4 nonprofit whose funding is literally unknown.
But yeah, y’all should definitely worry about the casinos and sportsbooks.
Let’s be clear about a couple of things: 1. Gambling is all over the state of Alabama, and money from it has been influencing Alabama elections for more than five decades now; and 2. “Gambling money” is no dirtier or cleaner than donations that come from any other business.
Gambling is a mainstream, accepted style of entertainment in America at this point. It has grown beyond the seductive and mysterious image it held 50 and 60 years ago, when it was confined mostly to Las Vegas and the backrooms where you had to know a guy to get in.
There’s an ad every other minute for a gambling website of one sort or another on TV now, and casinos are dotted all over the country, including around Alabama.
And everything is mostly fine.
In fact, the one thing that gambling needs – regulation that provides proper oversight – is prevented in states like Alabama, which refuses to move forward with common sense gambling legislation that would create an entity to enforce gaming laws.
There’s absolutely no way to quantify what I’m about to say, but I believe wholeheartedly that it’s true: Alabama almost certainly has, per capita, the most gambling fraud in America.
It’s because we have literally hundreds of unregulated, mostly illegal gambling operations in every county. They’re operated by some-dude in the back room of a gas station off a rural highway. There’s no one monitoring the payouts or ensuring that the games are fair. There’s no one to settle disputes. There’s no one guarantee payouts.
And that’s because of this archaic mindset – the one that still allows politicians in 2026 to turn donations from a casino or sportsbook into something nefarious – that blocks common sense legislation that would implement the sort of oversight necessary in today’s world of gambling.
That mindset also does something else: It leads to a flawed way of viewing those who operate legal gambling establishments in Alabama.
I’m talking about folks like the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, the McGregor family, Nat Winn. People who have been around this state for decades. Who have employed thousands of Alabamians. Who have paid millions of dollars in taxes. Who have abided by laws and courts and done everything right.
They get lumped together in this group of “gambling money” people and treated as if they’re doing something illegal. They get cast by some political groups who have a vested interest in blocking gaming legislation as villains.
When in fact, they’re the exact opposite. These folks, for years now, have been doing everything we tell people is right – building in Alabama, hiring Alabamians, expanding without tax breaks, giving back to their communities, treating employees well and providing services for our poorest citizens.
The last comprehensive gambling bill would have allowed these entities to operate several casinos in the state – up to nine – and would have brought around a billion dollars annually and between 12,000 and 15,000 permanent jobs. All of it with nary a dime of tax abatements or corporate handouts.
And the loons who run our government were like, naaaahhhhh, we’d rather take money from pharmaceutical companies and the defense industry, because they never hurt everyone.
It’s ridiculous.
And it all goes back to that antiquated mindset about gambling. Where we cast these good people – most of whom operate several other non-gambling businesses around the state and are some of the most respected and honored businesspeople in Alabama – as nefarious actors and treat them like small-time players. At the same time they’re opening casinos in Chicago and around the world, working with some of the most recognizable names in the hospitality and entertainment industries and literally managing billions of dollars of other properties. I mean, my God, the Poarch Creeks are right now, as you’re reading this, working with the U.S. military, Disney and about 15 other very recognizable entities on various projects.
Because it’s all business. Gambling is a business. It’s grown people choosing to spend their money on the form of entertainment that is offered. Same as going to a sporting event or a theme park.
Until this state comes to terms with that reality, we’re going to continue to lag behind. We’re going to continue to be inundated with absurd political ads about “gambling money.” We’re going to continue to miss out on billions in tax revenue and thousands of jobs. And we’re going to continue to look like absolute fools.
