Alabama Sports Betting May Not Crack 2025 Legislative Agenda

The outlook for Alabama sports betting in 2025 remains uncertain.

Some might even call it bleak.

After a contentious effort to try legalizing sports betting in Alabama last year, state officials are unsure whether they’ll force the issue in 2025. Reasons for the equivocation vary. With that said, members of the House of Representatives believe it comes down to the Senate.

“We had it on our platform last time, and we pushed it out of the House, it remains in the Senate, and that is where it died,” says Alabama House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville (via the Alabama Reflector). “So, until the Senate decides that they want to prioritize it, we are not even going to think about it.”

Last year, an Alabama sports betting bill made it through the House. Upon reaching the Senate, members bristled at the idea of legalizing sports betting and casino expansion. They sent the bill back to the House after removing both elements from it. Negotiations unfolded from there. Ultimately, though, the two parties could not find a workable compromise. So, the bill died. 

Experts expected it to be revived this year. As of now, however, only one initiative that mentions any form of gambling is on the table (House Bill 41).

There is plenty of time for circumstances to change. The question is: Will they actually? 

Senate Still Seems to Oppose the Idea of Alabama Sports Betting

Various members of the Senate continue to reiterate the need for compromises on a bill. They argue that they cannot generate enough support for a bill like the one from last year. 

“The question is, which cut and paste would get a vote and which one loses a vote,” says Senator. Greg Albritton, per the Alabama Reflector. “We have got to find the magic combination that gains us four and loses two.”

Albritton is largely spearheading the Alabama sports betting efforts among the Republican party. So, his read on the situation should be pretty accurate. 

Even so, it is not clear what a viable compromise looks like—or even if one exists.

Thus far, members of the Senate seem open to creating an Alabama State Lottery. They have not shown an active willingness to legalize sports betting or casino expansion. The basis of this opposition runs the gauntlet of motivations. But officials most commonly cite the Alabama state constitution, which bans both lotteries and gaming.

To that end, the passage of a bill will require a constitutional amendment. And that means putting the issue in front of voters. The next round of general elections will be held in November 2026, so timing is not necessarily an issue. Instead, some officials are expressing concern over a perceived lack of support.

There Is a Clear Demand Among Alabamans for Sports Betting

While it’s impossible to tell for sure whether Alabamans support sports betting, the most recent data suggests the aforementioned skepticism is overblown. As covered previously in this space, new GeoComply data shows there’s a demand for Alabama sports betting, specifically when it comes to account creation attempts within The Crimson State. 

According to those numbers “over 2 million attempts to access illegal online sportsbooks were blocked” during the 2024 March Madness tournament alone. And while this data harps on that time period, it is not specific to betting on college basketball alone. The Crimson State “consistently ranks second nationally in Google searches for illegal online sports betting,” according to GeoComply.

All of which undermines the idea that the voting population will not support Alabama sports betting. And to their credit, many opponents acknowledge as much. They say that their primary concern is problematic regulation—the ability to make it safe. 

That is a totally valid stance. But the framing of it can be counterintuitive. 

The Popularity of Sports Betting in the United States isn’t Going Anywhere

Figuring out how to make sports betting both safe and legal is a challenge faced by every market. The results of legalization, while lucrative financially, are perfect. 

Reports of problem gambling increase pepper every market that has sports betting. More recently, states such as Massachusetts and Ohio are taking aim at questionable advertising practices. On top of that, members of both the state and federal branches think more must be done to prevent and treat gambling addictions.

Supporters of Alabama sports betting typically cop to these obstacles and their downsides. But as Albritton says, the prospect of unregulated gambling isn’t any better.

“The problem hasn’t gone away,” Albritton explains of illegal Alabama sports betting. “In fact, it is getting worse, particularly [in] sports gaming. It continues to grow in Alabama, and it is growing completely unregulated. We are just sitting around and watching it grow. Whether I can get the votes to get it out of the Senate to do something different, I don’t know that yet.”

Many conflate illegality with active prevention. That isn’t how this works. The rise of sports betting in the United States isn’t limited to legal markets. Offshore sportsbooks have never been more accessible to even the most casual bettor. And because so many surrounding states have legal sports betting, many Alabamans have minimal trouble finding workarounds by crossing state lines. 

Will this argument be persuasive enough to spur another Alabama sports betting debate in 2025? Six months ago, the answer was a resounding “yes.” But now? Not so much.

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