By Associated Press
Montgomery, AL – A favorite hot button issue -- gambling -- is back on the table in the Alabama Legislature.
Bills introduced in the Alabama Legislature Thursday would legalize video bingo games for high stakes at greyhound racetracks in Birmingham and Mobile.
Under the proposal, 20 percent of revenue from the games would go to the state and be earmarked to fund Medicaid. Lawmakers in recent years have struggled to keep up with the rising cost of the health care program for low income and elderly residents.
The electronic bingo machines are currently legal at greyhound tracks in Macon and Greene County because of local laws. The bill would outlaw another kind of gambling machine, called "sweepstakes games," which have been popping up across the state.
The bills are sponsored by Rep. Marcel Black, D-Tuscumbia, and Sen. Pat Lindsey, D-Butler.
Gambling opponents in the Legislature said they were studying the proposal, but said they do not like the idea of allowing the bingo machines in Mobile and Birmingham.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)