Rep. Andy Whitt, R-Harvest, says he’s recently purchased bogus scratch-off lottery tickets in multiple Alabama counties.
And on a day trip to one north Alabama county, he visited 12 illegal gambling sites with electronic bingo machines.
Over the last six months, Whitt said he’s traveled around much of the state to see what gambling operations — legal and illegal — exist.
“I’ve concluded that it’s simply the wild west in Alabama when it comes to gaming,” Whitt told Alabama Daily News recently.
He and Rep. Chris Blackshear, R-Phenix City, are part of an informal group of House members studying what lottery and gambling legislation might, finally, pass their chamber. They’ve continued to work this summer with the goal of legislation early in the 2024 session.
