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VGW’s $100,000 contribution to Tuberville brings its total campaign contributions in Alabama this year to more than $351,000. The bulk of the funds—$170,000—went to North Alabama PAC, a political action committee managed by operative Steve Ruby.
Ruby is being funded by numerous gaming entities that want to see Alabama legalize gambling and sports betting. His donor list, along with VGW, includes DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.
VGW gave $20,000 to state Sen. Andrew Jones (R-District 10) and $15,000 to Senate President Pro Tempore Garlan Gudger (R-District 4). State Sens. Donnie Chesteen (R-District 29) and Will Barfoot (R-District 25), along with Republican candidate John Roberts, who is running in the second district, each received $10,000 from VGW.
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The win completely changed his relationship with gambling. In Madsen’s words: “That jackpot was really the beginning of my gambling addiction.” It was an addiction that was propelled by a constant exposure to illegal sites, he explains.
The cycle eventually became extreme.
“At one point, I had only a few thousand euros left to gamble with, but then I won €180,000 in a single day. The next day I lost it all again,” he says.
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The age proposal was the bill’s most contentious provision. Opposition MPs argued during the committee stage that Botswana should retain the existing minimum age of 21, but the bill passed with Clause 2 intact. The clause would replace references in the Act to “the age of 21” with “the age of 18”.
Botswana’s parliament published the measure as the Gambling (Amendment) Bill, 2026, Bill No. 15 of 2026.
Botswana’s existing gambling framework sets the legal gambling age at 21. The amendment bill would align that threshold with the country’s general age of majority, which is 18.
