Did Alabama Sports Betting Lose Existing Support During the Last Round of State Legislative Meetings?

Year after year, even as various initiatives fail, it always seems like Alabama sports betting is tracking toward legalization. Has this past year changed that?

Make no mistake, The Crimson State is never considered a lock to rework their gaming laws. Debates over the odds that sports betting in Alabama rage on each year. 

But that’s also kind of the point. 

Discussions would not be taking place if the state wasn’t legitimately interested in its legalization and potential benefits. Beyond that, multiple attempts to legalize Alabama sports betting don’t happen if officials are not intrigued. And they most certainly do not happen if those same officials believe voters wouldn’t approve of a sports betting bill in The Crimson State. 

Complete disinterest in the legalization of sports wagering looks entirely different than what we see in Alabama. Indifference is a term best reserved for Idaho sports betting, or for Utah sports betting, or for Alaska sports betting. None of these states have seriously broached the topic in recent years, let alone talked about it on an annual basis. 

This measured interest from Alabama lawmakers is something to which sports betting supporters in The Crimson State continuously cling. Every time a proposal fails, it at least seems like policymakers made strides toward legalization in the imminent future. That optimism has reached fever pitch over the last year or two. During that time, the Alabama House of Representatives has actually given its stamp approval to sports betting legislation. And yet, as it turns out, there’s a chance this year’s initiative may have walked back some of the previous progress.

What Happened to the 2024 Alabama Sports Betting Bill

So what exactly happened with the 2024 Alabama sports betting bill? It’s a little complicated. The short version: The House approved a framework, one that would have allowed online sportsbooks in the United States to enter the market. However, when the bill arrived in the Senate, it was promptly stripped down and remade into something entirely different.

Here’s Nick Beare of Legal Sports Report with even more context on what went wrong:

“2024’s proposed legislation would have legalized online sports betting, created a gambling commission and lottery system, and allowed up to seven casinos to open. That bill would [have required] a statewide vote on a constitutional amendment in November. However, lawmakers stripped sports betting and casinos from that package before advancing a compromise proposal. The two bills, House Bill 151 and House Bill 152, would have created a state lottery but not sports betting. Ultimately, even without sports betting, both bills still failed. Alabama’s 2024 legislative session ended on May 20.”

Without even hearing a response from officials, you can tell this particular failure is different. None of these details hint at progress. Alabama sports betting and casinos were the bones of the initial proposals. Removing them entirely from the equation implies more of a fundamental disconnect.

Senator Greg Albritton Says Previous Sports Betting Supporters Wound Up Changing Their Votes

Months later, it still isn’t clear what specific issues upended the latest Alabama sports betting attempt. Some have speculated that many officials wanted more regulation. Whatever the primary reasoning, it turns out that a handful of “yes” votes eventually shifted their position.

“I don’t think [unanimous consent] would happen,” Senator Greg Albritton (via the Alabama Reflector) explained at the time. “We’re stuck. We either have to vote the [constitutional amendment] up or down or just leave it in the basket…That sounds easy enough, but the other problem that comes in is how many of the ‘yes’ votes have already turned back to ‘no.’ Every time we bring this up, we lose votes.”

Supporters of Alabama sports betting will find this jarring. Equally wild: Though Senator Albritton expressed disappointment when Alabama sports betting failed, he is among those who changed his votes.

This doesn’t seem great. After all, Senator Albritton has long been one of the biggest advocates for Alabama sports betting legalization. If he’s changing his tune, what hope does the next attempt to amend the constitution have? 

What is the Outlook on Sports Betting in Alabama?

Answering this question with any sort of conviction is impossible. Too many attempts to legalize Alabama sports betting and casinos are in the rear view. So many different issues have cropped up. Even when progress got made year over year, this wasn’t an issue you could simply pencil in as settled. 

If forced to speculate, we’d say the Alabama sports betting outlook is fuzzier, if not in worse shape, compared to this time last year. The fact that The Crimson State’s push lost what seems like numerous votes is telltale.

Then again, perhaps we’re misreading the situation. 

Could Senator Albritton and others have changed their votes in response to Alabama casinos and sports betting being removed from HB 151 and HB 152? And if that’s the case, doesn’t that actually reinforce their commitment to the legalization of sports wagering?

This is certainly possible. But that doesn’t mean it’s a silver lining. It matters more that the opposition is strong enough to have stripped sports betting and casinos from the initial proposal at all. And it also matters that after said stripping, the two sides could not find the time or ability to compromise on key issues.

None of which proves Alabama sports betting efforts in 2025 will be futile. It’s still possible. Again: Officials are clearly intrigued by it. Still, the gap separating “intrigue” from “legalization” appears to be much larger than many believe.

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