Alabama Legal Sports Betting Not in the Cards in 2024

What had been a tough battle for a legal sports betting platform in Alabama looks like it is officially dead... at least for this year. It's going to be another year where residents of the state will not be able to use our best sports betting sites.

On Tuesday, it became clear after the latest meeting of a conference committee set up to discuss the merits of a pair of legal gambling bills in the state, that sports betting was not going to be a part of any gaming Bill in the state for this year at least.

Once a staple of the popular House Bills 151 and 152, sports betting does not even get a mention in the Senate amended version of the legislation.

What the bills proposed

House Bill 151 and House Bill 152 was aimed at giving Alabama voters a chance to weigh in on the viability of an expanded legal gambling platform that would include sports betting. A constitutional amendment was being sought, for which voters would have to approve it on the November 5 election ballot.

If successful, the way the House of Representatives in the state intended it, a newly formed Alabama Gaming Commission would oversee a platform that would include retail and online sports betting in the state, a new state lottery, in-person casino style games, raffles, and paper bingo.

Up to 10 casinos would be created under the plan, all of which would generate between $305 million to $379 million in net revenue annually with a good chunk in tax revenue for the state thanks to a proposed 17% tax. 

The Alabama House of Representatives passed the two Bills by a 72-29 vote.

Even Republican Governor Kay Ivey touted the plan in her State of the State address. She said, “This year, when Alabamians make their way to the ballot box, I hope they will be voting on another issue: Gaming. I believe the current proposal being contemplated by the Legislature is good for Alabama, and I will be carefully watching it move through the process. It will crack down on illegal gambling, and it will responsibly regulate limited forms of legal gaming, including a statewide lottery. Thank you to Speaker Ledbetter and his leadership team for their hard work on this. Now is the time for Alabama voters to have another say on this issue.”

Senate gets in the way

The Alabama Senate got their crack at the Bill after it was sent over by the House of Representatives. That's where things were derailed, and cost residents another opportunity to access our best sports betting apps.

The Alabama Senate Tourism Committee was able to approve some of the measures in the House Bill, but curiously omitted sports betting language from it. Just the state lottery provisions, and licensed slot parlors remained in the original piece of legislation with oversight still laying at the feet of the Alabama Gaming Commission.

The Senate decision forced the creation of a conference committee, tasked with finding some common ground, something that did not happen. 

Frustration was evident during the last conference meeting, when bill sponsor and legal sports betting proponent Rep. Chris Blackshear said, “H.B. 151 also does not — and let me be clear — does not authorize sports betting. It is out. That was one of the biggest things: sports betting is removed.”

What's next?

The entirety of the Alabama legal gambling industry remains in limbo, thanks to lawmakers’ inability to gain any consensus about a possible platform. A state lottery and slot parlors possibility remain, as does a request for Gov. Kay Ivey to renegotiate a compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, Alabama’s only federally recognized tribe. But sports betting is out. Another year without our best sportsbooks.

The only clarity from this week's developments is that voters in the state won't get a chance to vote on a possible legal sports betting platform in November.

Alabama represents the latest blow for legal sports betting proponents in the South. The Heart of Dixie officially joined Georgia and Mississippi as southern states that have been unable to get such a platform over the finish line this year.

Better luck next year!