May 9 marked the end of the legislative session in the state of Alabama and, consequently, the failure of the highly controversial gambling bills, which the Senate did not pass. 

Alabama’s Gambling Bills Stalled After House Approval

Despite the gambling bills’ successful passage at the Alabama House on April 30, their positive progress was stopped short by the Senate not even reaching the Senate floor for a vote. 

To some extent, the bills’ demise was due to Sen. Greg Albritton last-minute change of mind. He supported the bills initially, however, he distanced himself from the legislation eventually when it reached the Senate, leaving the bills short of the necessary votes.

Notably the bills did not include the legalization of sports betting but facilitated the launch of a state education lottery, authorization of electronic games of chance, and regulation of traditional raffles and bingo.

The failed passage of the bills in the Senate means yet another setback for the already prolonged debate over gaming expansion in Alabama. The efforts of introducing comprehensive gambling legislation met serious resistance, which is very similar to the futile attempts to legalize gambling in Alabama in 1999.

House Lawmakers Decry Senate Inaction, Highlighting Lost Revenue Opportunities

Following the end of the Senate session, House lawmakers voiced their frustration regarding the Senate’s indecisiveness. Some of the proponents of the gambling bills such as Rep. Chris Blackshear expressed discontent as the failed passage of the legislation means yet another lost opportunity to secure additional revenue for critical sectors such as education and infrastructure, reported local media outlet Al.com.

Gov. Kay Ivey also echoed Blackshear’s sentiment and expressed disappointment over the Senate’s failure to act. She further added that every year the Senate keeps postponing gambling legislation.

Rep. Thomas Jackson, D-Thomasville, on the other hand, pointed out that Alabama residents will now keep going to neighboring states to buy lottery tickets and support the budgets of Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. 

On a recent visit to Alabama, Donald Trump Jr. also used the opportunity to criticize the Alabama Senate for not passing the gambling bills and allowing state residents to vote on the introduction of a state lottery. Trump Jr. questioned why state lawmakers decided to direct funds toward neighboring states instead of keeping them in Alabama. Gov. Kay advocated for the launch of a state lottery emphasizing the importance of letting residents decide.

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The General Assembly of the American state of Maryland has failed to take action on the prospected legalization of online casinos in the state as it adjourned on April 8 without discussing the matter.

That happened despite several stakeholders having expressed interest in that aspect, including iGaming suppliers, operators, vendors and lawmakers, all regarding the prospect of legalizing online casinos in Maryland as a real possibility.

A similar thing happened in the state of Georgia a couple of weeks ago when the General Assembly ended its term without voting on the legalization of online sports betting in the state. Experts were regarding Georgia and Maryland as the two states with the best prospects for legalization of online gambling this Spring.

However, Maryland does have legislation in place regarding online sports betting, it was approved back in November 2020 after the population had its say through a referendum.

Major Hurdles in Other States

There are several other American states which are considering expanding their online gambling legislation, but each one of them seems to have issues that need more time before being completely ironed out.

In Alabama for instance, there is a comprehensive package of bills that aim to legalize lottery, retail casinos and online sports betting in the state. That package of legislation is currently blocked at a conference committee which is tasked with setting fair tax rates for each of those activities and also to solve the problem of gambling exclusivity by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.

In Maine the General Assembly failed to put two bills to vote that would have given the four tribes in the state control over online casinos and shut two existing land-based venues. Both bills came with divided reports from the committees, so debates are bound to resume when the legislature adjourns on April 17.

The Mississippi Senate witnessed two bills regarding the legalization of sports betting die in its committees while a third was adopted by the Gaming Committee in a strike-all version just to keep the topic alive for now. The legislature in this state will adjourn on 5 May.

Missouri had plenty of sports betting bills being discussed and at least one made it to the House floor to be discussed. That doesn’t mean that the bill is close to being adopted, though, as there is little consensus about its contents within the state legislature.

Pro sports teams in Missouri are trying to collect signatures for a sports betting initiative that would be included in the November ballot, when the American people will elect its next president. The pro sports teams will have to gather 171,592 verified signatures by early May in order to get on the ballot in November.

Source:

“Maryland online casino is dead. What else is left for 2024 US gambling expansion?“, igamingbusiness.com, April 9, 2024.

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Business in Vancouver reported that a Canadian law firm has failed in its bid to have a CAD18 million ($13.4 million) lawsuit against them dismissed, which was filed by two international online gambling companies. However, the British Columbia Supreme Court ruled that the case should proceed.

Jazette and Go Forward Sue Beadle Defendants Over Alleged $13.4M Theft

The lawsuit was filed in 2019 by Jazette Enterprises Ltd. and Go Forward Solutions Ltd., companies based in Mauritius and St. Vincent and the Grenadines respectively, that operate an online gambling website. According to the plaintiffs, a sum of CAD18 million ($13.4 million) produced by the website was unlawfully taken in 2016 by some individuals associated with the enterprise, and subsequently transferred through a trust account administered by Beadle Raven.

Although the allegations have not been proven in court, the judge noted that it was clear from the evidence in the application that some CAD18 million ($13.4 million) did indeed pass through the trust account operated by the Beadle defendants. The matter is also the subject of litigation in Qatar.

To investigate the lost funds, the plaintiffs enlisted the services of a contractor. In October of the previous year, Charlotte Payne, one of the Jazette owners, was scheduled to participate in a discovery examination, which is a pre-trial procedure that allows parties in a civil dispute to obtain information from the other side. However, she ultimately declined to do so.

The plaintiffs then said that the contractor was the appropriate person to represent them for discovery. This led to an application by the Beadle defendants to have the case thrown out entirely for non-compliance.

Judge Orders Charlotte Payne to Attend Discovery Hearing

The judge rejected the request for dismissal, deeming it a particularly harsh measure since the plaintiffs proposed an alternative to Payne and the other Jazette owner Keith Helman and thus did not completely refuse the discovery process. 

The judge further noted the gravity of the CAD18 million ($13.4 million) claim. She ordered Payne to attend a discovery hearing, noting that the Beadle defendants have read her affidavit, in which she claims to have little relevant knowledge and are still insisting on interviewing her for discovery.

The judge expressed that the Beadle defendants may be making an unwise choice by exercising their right to discovery with a representative who is unlikely to provide information or admissions that can strengthen their defense against the plaintiffs’ claims. However, the judge noted that it is not the court’s place to question the Beadle defendants’ litigation strategy.

The judge also stated that although Payne had a back ailment, she would need to be accommodated but could not skip discovery entirely for that reason.

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Recent research has highlighted that Take Time to Think, a safer gambling initiative by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), might not be very effective. The results show that the campaign and its slogan barely affect players’ behavior, if at all.

The inefficiency of the Take Time to Think system was demonstrated by experts at the University of Warwick. The researchers tested the campaign’s effectiveness in a live betting environment but couldn’t observe an impact on how players wager.

The experts created an online roulette game and supplied all participants with £5 to play. This was, in fact, real money that players could withdraw instead of gambling away. Then, the researchers split the 1,500 participants into three groups.

The first group saw the Take Time to Think campaign prominently promoted in the background. Although the campaign was featured throughout their playtime, it didn’t disrupt their gameplay. On the contrary, the second group was interrupted mid-game by a pop-up that promotes Take Time to Think. Unlike the first group, the second group was forced to manually close the pop-up window. Lastly, the third group could play without seeing the slogan at all.

As it turns out, the experts were unable to notice any significant difference in the ways the people from the three groups played.

Stronger Wording Is Needed, Experts Say

According to Lukasz Walasek, associate professor of psychology at the University of Warwick and co-author of the research, neither the background message nor the pop-up window had any noticeable impact. Unfortunately, Walasek said, the slogan failed to change players’ bet sizes, betting frequency or playtime.

According to the authors of the study, a better responsible gambling campaign would be one that clearly highlights the dangers of gambling. This may include warning labels such as the ones found on alcoholic beverages and tobacco products.

Elliot Ludvig, professor of psychology at the University of Warwick, noted that strong wording would be needed if such initiatives are to have an impact on player behavior. Ludvig argues that such programs’ efficiency should be tested before they are launched to the general public.

BGC’s Previous Campaign Was Suboptimal as Well

Take Time to Think was launched in 2021. It effectively replaced the previous program which was called When the Fun Stops Stop. Both programs have been extensively featured across industry marketing materials.

Unfortunately, When the Fun Stops Stop also failed to have a significant impact on British players’ behavior. Before the campaign was replaced by Take Time to Think, the University of Warwick ran a similar probe, resulting in similar results.

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