The original sponsors of last session’s comprehensive gambling bill told CBS 42 that the issue is not going away and it is very much still on the table.

“It is here. It is here to stay,” said Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Atmore) about illegal gambling in the state. “And the only thing we can do in Alabama is try to grasp control of that industry so we can protect the public and be a beneficiary of it.”

Sen. Albritton originally sponsored the gambling bill in the Senate but voted against it. He said it’ll be hard to find a lawmaker who will sponsor a comprehensive bill after it didn’t pass last year.