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Alabama is a southern state located in “the Heart of Dixie”, with a rich history dating back to the Civil War. It is known for its Magnolia trees, lush gardens, grand old historic homes, and southern hospitality. The capital of Alabama is Montgomery, which was the first capital of the Confederacy.
Alabama casinos are for the most part bingo casinos, which are run by Native Americans. Casinos can only be run on Native American land, since there is no legalized gambling as such in the state of Alabama. The revenue from the Alabama casinos, as a result, is not taxed by the state of Alabama, since Native American tribes own them. The majority of gambling in Alabama can be found at the horse racing tracks and dog races, in addition to a few slot machines, video gambling machines, and pull-tab cards at these locations.
There are very few numbers of casinos found throughout Alabama, there are mainly bingo halls with electronic machines. Yet, you can find horse racing and dog tracks in the area, if pari-mutuel gambling is your preference. The lack of casinos in Alabama has now turned into a political debate with one candidate asking people to vote for him so he can help raise money within Alabama by establishing casinos. If he is elected he would allow the casinos to expand to full-fledged casinos on the condition that they pay 12% of their gross revenue to the state of Alabama.
Due to the fact that the casinos, at present, are small and offer no taxes to the state; casinos and the revenue they produces would be a welcomed improvement, not only for players but residents as it would create jobs and help with the state’s economy. At present, players are opting to cross the state line into Mississippi instead of visiting the smaller casinos in Alabama. Yet, there are people from Alabama who do not like the idea of turning the state into a tourist’s attraction by allowing casinos to be established. They claim that the restaurants in the area would actually suffer if casinos brought in their own food outlets and this in turn would have a damaging effect on the industry. Alabama is one of the last lottery hold outs although sites and industry stand poised to take advantage of the Alabama Lottery when it does arrive.