Gambling bill tops list of tough issues when Alabama Legislature returns to work Updated Feb 14, 2021; Posted Feb 14, 2021 Sen. Del Marsh, R-Anniston, talks about his proposed constitutional amendment to allow a lottery and casinos in Alabama. Facebook Share Alabama lawmakers finished what they considered urgent business the first two weeks of the legislative session, passing three bills related to the COVID-19 pandemic with overwhelming bipartisan support, but face more controversial topics in the weeks ahead. They will first take a week off to evaluate how well efforts to meet safely during the COVID-19 pandemic are working. If they don’t find problems and return as expected on Feb. 23, they will dive into a plan for a lottery and casinos, a major gambling expansion that would raise a half-billion dollars or more a year for state programs.