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.”
