Beast Below

About Beast Below

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.

What is Beast Below?

This is only possible if the club in question allocates at least 0.75% of prescribed profits over $1 million to community-focused activities and services. These profits make up two-thirds of the ClubGRANTS scheme funding. 

The final third derives from a further 0.4% of a club’s gaming machine profits over $1 million during a tax year. 

However, the scheme has faced ongoing scrutiny and criticism. Clubs can direct the funds towards upgrading their own facilities, and there is no mandated verification for how the grant recipients must deploy the money. 

About Beast Below

Yaxley adds: “The most meaningful measure of progress is not simply who joins an organisation, but whether opportunities, development and leadership pathways are accessible to everyone.”

Despite the progress made, interviewees agree there are still areas where the gambling industry has work to do.

“I believe there is still work to be done to ensure diversity is fully reflected at every level of an organisation, particularly within senior leadership and executive positions,” Yaxley says.