American Senior Alliance Calls for Statewide Lottery Vote in Alabama
Representatives of the American Senior Alliance today announced the group’s support for the passage of a statewide lottery to benefit the Alabama General fund.
Multiple studies reveal that annual revenue from a state-run lottery system in Alabama would generate in excess of $300 million a year.
“The ongoing budget crisis in Alabama has placed critical services for our Seniors in great danger,” said Conwell Hooper, spokesman for the American Senior Alliance. “Alabama must open the ready stream of revenue that a lottery would provide. For too long, millions of dollars have been spent by Alabamians on lotteries in other states. It’s time we kept that money here to help stabilize our budget in order to meet the critical needs of, and provide essential services for, Alabama seniors.”
Neighboring states continue to benefit from their statewide lotteries and the millions of tickets purchased by Alabamians. The Georgia lottery has been in existence for 23 years and has generated $17 billion for the state of Georgia. On July 20, the Georgia lottery commission wrote a check for $1 billion to the state of Georgia. In 2015 gross lottery ticket sales in Georgia increased 4.3%.
Last year in Tennessee, the lottery enjoyed $1.475 billion in total gross sales, and a record growth of 4.1%. Likewise, the Florida Lottery has increased sales annually in 12 of the past 14 years.
The American Senior Alliance believes that the Alabama Legislature must act now and let the people vote to keep Alabama lottery dollars in Alabama to meet the needs of Alabamians.
“We must establish a sustainable source of funding for the General Fund. We are imploring legislators to allow the people to decide whether they want a state lottery,” said Hooper. “We are asking the Alabama legislature to stay in Montgomery until they get this job done.”
The American Senior Alliance is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization that advocates on behalf of America’s greatest generation. The Alliance strives to be a trusted source of unbiased information for seniors and policymakers.
Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the American Senior Alliance has supporters, partners, and advocates across the Southeast and beyond who are dedicated to being a voice for seniors.