Chris Boline
People all over the state have been waiting to see if sports betting in Alabama will arrive in the near future. While there had been promise that things were moving in the right direction, the latest updates tells us Alabama sports betting losing hope by the day is the consensus of how people are feeling. This is a major disappointment, as folks were waiting to see if changes would be coming.
However, there was a recent meeting of the legislators, including high-ranking officials. During that session, it was basically put on the table for everyone to see that so many people are against Alabama betting. The republicans across the board are having issues getting on the same page when it comes to multiple different law changes, with this of course including legalizing sports betting.
“If they do try to push it, I think it divides our caucus, and that’s one thing we don’t need,” Republican Chip Brown said recently via the Montgomery Advertiser. “We’re looking at the speaker, we’re looking at the people in leadership we’re electing the next quadrennium. In my opinion, it’s in our best interest to set it aside.”
For sports betting, there’s two sides of things in this case, but no one can seem to come to an agreement. With things being a bit of a race against the clock as well, there needs to be some urgency here if things will in fact get changed sooner than later. If you take a look at the quote from Brown, it shows that people aren’t in a rush to move forward, which spells bad news for everyone who wants betting to arrive.
The state of Louisiana made $4M from sports gambling taxes in just 4 months of operation (Nov '21-Feb '22). Alabama & Louisiana have roughly equal populations. Alabama is willfully passing on, what, an extra 10 million dollars in free tax revenue by not legalizing sports betting?
— joshdub 🦚 (@joshdub_) April 11, 2022
Alabama sports fans aren’t happy with the latest news
It goes without saying, but Alabama sports fans aren’t happy with the latest news that has come in on Alabama sports betting. They’ve been waiting patiently for the change to come, but legislators aren’t ready to rush into any kind of a decision. With this, it could be until 2023 where we actually see some movement in terms of things moving forward positively.
When it comes to sports in the state, there’s no question that football is king, with people always checking out the NCAA football odds through the best rated sportsbooks to see which teams are favored each weekend. The two main powerhouses in the state are the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Auburn Tigers. Alabama has been to the national title game two straight seasons.
Etching A Legacy. @ENeal73@PhidarianMathis @_bryce_young@will_anderson28 #BamaFactor #RollTide pic.twitter.com/gceTh7GagE
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) April 18, 2022
In January of 2021, the Tide won it all. This past season, however, the team lost to Georgia with the title on the line. Despite that, the team is favored to win it all next winter. Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young will be back with the team and you know he’s going to be fired up to try and bring more glory to Tuscaloosa for head coach Nick Saban, no question one of the best coaches of all time.
As for Auburn, this team is ready to make plenty of noise in the SEC too. From the moment Week 1 arrives, the Tigers will be ready to make plenty of noise and record some huge wins. Imagine if betting was legal in Alabama? People would bet massive amounts on the Iron Bowl, which features Alabama vs. Auburn in the last regular season game. Now, people will need to keep waiting.
When could Alabama sports betting become legal?
The question everyone now has is when could Alabama sports betting become legal? As has been the case for months now, things are totally up in the air and unclear. The longer we wait for more updates, though, the less optimism that people have as a whole in things being given the green light. With so much division in the offices near the capitol, it adds to the confusion.
As is the case with the other states who haven’t legalized sports betting, Alabama is losing millions of dollars each year in terms of revenue. More than 30 states across the USA have legalized sports betting, but Alabama – along with Texas, California and others – are yet to make the jump and the local citizens continue to ask what’s taking so long for something to happen.
In the meantime, people in Alabama will keep traveling to different states to fill their betting needs. As everyone knows, there’s plenty of illegal gambling going on as well. This money being transferred isn’t regulated, though, which isn’t good for anyone. Alabama could use money from sports betting to help other initiatives. Yet, that’s not enough for them to push things through.
Only time will tell if people in office over in Alabama have a change of heart, but as of now, it just feels like things are at a standstill. We don’t have to tell you how frustrating this is for people in Alabama, but it doesn’t look like anything positive will be coming soon. It’s a major bummer for so many, but they’ll have to keep waiting.
