Alabama Sports Betting
Sports betting in Alabama is not yet legal, but it isn’t for lack of effort. Lawmakers have introduced several bills to legalize retail sportsbooks and online sports betting in Alabama in each of the past few years.
However, Alabama sports betting proponents must overcome significant resistance in a state with some of the country’s most restrictive gambling laws to enact change.
In the meantime, other Alabama online betting options include daily fantasy sports apps and pari-mutuel horse racing betting sites.
Legal Alabama Betting Sites
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Alabama Sports Betting Law
Legal sports betting in Alabama seemed like a long shot just a few years ago, but the tide is beginning to turn.
Lawmakers have introduced bills to legalize sports betting in Alabama each year since 2019. None have made it through the legislative process to become law, but there are indications of changing attitudes in a traditionally anti-gambling state.
In addition, pro-gambling lawmakers have shown signs of increasing their efforts to bring Alabama online sports betting in from the black market, regulate it, and tax it.
And as neighboring states like Mississippi and Tennessee legalize sports betting, Alabama lawmakers must decide if they’re content to let residents near the borders generate tax revenue for other states.
Most recently, State Senators introduced two bills (SB 293 and SB 294) that would have put Alabama sports betting on the November 2022 ballot.
Had the bills passed, voters would have gotten a chance to decide if sports betting in Alabama should be authorized.
Neither bill made much progress in the legislature, but their introduction demonstrates that pro-gambling lawmakers are motivated to legalize Alabama sportsbooks and online betting apps.
In addition, lawmakers have committed to introducing additional legislation to legalize sports betting in 2024.
Alabama Online Sports Betting Outlook
Whether Alabama will legalize online sports betting or not is an open question.
On one hand, Alabama’s reluctance to expand legal gambling options could prompt lawmakers to compromise on legislation to legalize retail sportsbooks only.
On the other hand, every Alabama sports betting bill introduced to date has included provisions to authorize online sportsbooks.
In addition, the lack of an established land-based casino industry in Alabama could push lawmakers to follow the example set by Tennessee and legalize online sports betting only.
Given the consistency with which lawmakers introduce legislation friendly to online betting, the first Alabama sports betting sites may not be as far off as they seem right now.
That said, one thing about online sports betting Alabama readers should keep in mind is that lawmakers still face strong headwinds from constituents worried about the potential for problem gambling with increased ease of access.
Alabama Daily Fantasy Sports
$100 Deposit BonusPrizePicks Promo Code: BUSADaily fantasy sports (DFS) sites and apps are legal in Alabama thanks to a law passed in 2019 that instituted a licensing regime, regulations, and a 10.5% tax on DFS operators.
Per state law, Alabama DFS sites must register with the Office of the Attorney General and adhere to a basic set of regulations, such as:
- Enforcing a minimum age of 19 to participate in paid DFS contests
- Preventing athletes from participating in contests based on sports in which they play
- Offering voluntary self-exclusion to all customers
The passage of HB 361 in May 2019 ended a multi-year drought for daily fantasy sports in Alabama dating back to 2016.
Before 2016, Alabama daily fantasy sports sites offered one of the few forms of legal online betting available in the state.
That changed in 2016 after Attorney General Luther Strange issued an opinion that DFS contests constitute illegal gambling under Alabama state law.
He then sent cease-and-desist letters to FanDuel Fantasy and DraftKings Daily Fantasy.
The AG’s decision to send DFS apps packing came as a surprise because the Alabama Supreme Court had previously ruled that fantasy sports contests are legal because they are based on skill.
That case ruling likened daily fantasy sports to crane machines, which also involve risking real money on a game that’s part luck and part skill.
As a result, all fantasy sports sites and DFS apps exited the Alabama market in 2016 but returned in 2019 when the new law took effect.
Additional changes came to the Alabama fantasy sports market in August 2023 amid a national trend of gaming regulators investigating the legality of pick ’em style DFS games.
Unlike traditional DFS leagues, pick ’em contests involve making predictions on individual athletes’ stats and competing against the house rather than other players.
In some states, regulators have determined pick ’em contests constitute illegal sports betting and ordered operators to cease all such activities.
The Alabama Attorney General’s Office investigated the issue and reached a similar conclusion but did not demand an end to pick ’em contests.
Instead, the Attorney General asked daily fantasy sports operators to adjust the rules of their pick ’em games to eliminate projections on individual athletes’ stats.
For example, a typical high/low contest offered before the AG’s request would have asked fans to select three or more athletes and choose higher or lower on a projected stat for each athlete (passing yards, 3-pointers, etc.).
Now, that type of pick ’em contest at Alabama daily fantasy sports sites would have customers select three or more pairs of athletes and pick higher or lower on each pair’s combined stats total.
Alabama Horse Racing Betting
$200 Deposit BonusTwinSpires Offer Code: BET200Four race tracks exist in Alabama but no longer host live horse races.
Birmingham Race Course ended live horse racing in 1995 and live greyhound racing in 2020.
However, Alabama online horse racing betting sites and apps are legal and represent an excellent option for Alabama bettors not near a track.
There are currently two major horse racing betting sites available in Alabama:
There was a push to bring horse races back to Birmingham in 2011, but that effort failed to gain much traction. Three sections in the Alabama State Code govern pari-mutuel wagering in Alabama:
- Title 40 Chapter 26A
- Title 11, Subtitle 2, Chapter 65
- Title 40 Chapter 2A
Alabama Greyhound Racing Betting
Alabama was one of just a few holdout states with legal greyhound racing until Birmingham Race Course ended live greyhound races in 2020.
None of Alabama’s other race tracks host live dog races, but all four offer simulcast wagering.
Alabama Online Gambling Laws
Current Alabama gambling laws are strict and prohibit most forms of gambling.
The odds of online gambling in Alabama becoming legalized do not appear great over the short term, but lawmakers have studied the issue and may consider action in the future.
Note: BettingUSA urges readers in Alabama to avoid playing at offshore online casinos and poker sites.
There are several laws in the Code of Alabama that pertain to gambling. Section 13A-12-20 of the Criminal Code explains the state’s definition of gambling and what it means to “advance” gambling activity. Alabama defines gambling as follows:
A person engages in gambling if he stakes or risks something of value upon the outcome of a contest of chance or a future contingent event not under his control or influence, upon an agreement or understanding that he or someone else will receive something of value in the event of a certain outcome.
People who participate in gambling are subject to a Class C misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to three months in jail and a fine of $500 or double the amount lost by the counterparty.
In addition, Section 8-1-150 in the Alabama Code renders all gambling contracts void and unenforceable:
(a) All contracts founded in whole or in part on a gambling consideration are void. Any person who has paid any money or delivered anything of value lost upon any game or wager may recover such money, thing, or its value by an action commenced within six months from the time of such payment or delivery.
(b) Any other person may also recover the amount of such money, thing, or its value by an action commenced within 12 months after the payment or delivery thereof for the use of the wife or, if no wife, the children or, if no children, the next of kin of the loser.
Criminal law aside, that one provision is enough to nullify any kind of gambling industry in Alabama. Even if they did find a way to skirt criminal law, Alabama online casinos would find it impossible to turn a profit.
Alabama has no immediate plans to change that law, so it’s unlikely we’ll see legal Alabama online casinos or poker sites any time soon.
Tip: Sweepstakes casino sites like WOW Vegas and Pulsz Casino are legal in Alabama and offer casino-style games for real money.
As always, the safest bet for players interested in betting real money is to stick with the forms of gambling that are 100% legal in Alabama.
Alabama Sports Betting FAQ
Mike Murphy is the founder of BettingUSA.com and has over 10 years of experience in the legal gambling industry. A regular attendee of industry trade shows and conferences, Mike is a strong proponent in the idea of a well regulated online betting industry.