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Over the past ten years, the following question has been posed to me, “Flowers, why in the world does Alabama not have a lottery, and why can’t we receive the revenue from gambling that every one of our surrounding states and almost every state in America thrives on?”
Over this past decade, I have spoken to as many as 50 major Civic Clubs and Chamber of Commerce banquets. As Alabama’s primary political columnist and commentator, I am considered mainstream conservative, therefore, most of the clubs are Rotary Clubs. These conservative Rotarians and Chamber of Commerce leaders are primarily mainstream conservative voters, and movers and shakers in their communities. After my talks to them about current Alabama politics and Alabama political history, I tend to open up at the end for questions from the floor. The aforementioned question on gambling and lottery dollars has been the most prevalent question asked for the past decade from these conservative audiences.
Therefore, my observation is that older conservative Alabamians will vote “yes” on a lottery and gaming. “Why,” you ask, because these folks have enough walking around sense to know that most Alabamians buy lottery tickets and bet on ballgames, and they are sick and tired of their fellow state citizens’ money going to our surrounding states.
The only decision that your legislator/senator has to make is to vote to simply let you vote on whether you want to keep our gambling/lottery dollars at home.
If I were a legislator, I would have a hard time coming back home and explaining to my constituents that I voted to not allow them the right to vote to keep their lottery dollars at home. If your legislator is that high and mighty, you need to bring them back home.
The day of saying that buying a lottery ticket or betting on a football game is immoral is long gone. There are a lot more detrimental habits to be against than buying lottery tickets. If you want to help people be moral and protect their wellbeing, start your campaigns to do away with alcohol and cigarettes. These two vices have destroyed a hundred times more people than betting on lottery tickets or ballgames.
There are no passages in the Bible where Jesus rails against gambling. Check out Acts, Chapter one versus 23-25. The disciples cast lots to choose who should succeed Judas. If casting lots is good enough for choosing one of Jesus’ disciples, than it is good enough for educating our children.
Alabama is now one of only four states in America that do not have a lottery. It comes as no surprise that most Alabamians – both Republicans and Democrats – find this absurd. In fact, 80 percent of Alabamians, when polled, say they adamantly want their legislators to vote on whether to keep their lottery dollars at home.
This same reliable polling reveals that the Alabamians in favor of a state lottery also attend church up to two times a week and already gamble on sporting events and drive out of state to purchase lottery tickets. This is especially true of Alabamians under 50.
Today, most Alabamians see nothing irreverent or wrong about buying a lottery ticket or betting on a football game. What they do find appalling is that their children and grandchildren, who are successful in school, could go to college tuition free if they lived next door in Georgia. Alabamians have educated untold numbers of Georgia students over the past 25 years. It is no coincidence that the largest outlets for purchasing lottery tickets are located along Georgia’s Alabama border.
The same holds true along Florida’s Alabama border. The people in Dothan and the Wiregrass alone have probably paved most of the roads throughout the panhandle of Florida.
All of our four surrounding states of Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and Mississippi allow the purchase of lottery tickets. Mississippi funds almost half of their government off of gaming dollars.
Alabama’s legislators need to let Alabamians vote on whether they want to reap revenue from a lottery and sports betting.
See you next week.
