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May 15 — that’s the date that Alabama’s legislative session wraps up for 2025. Remember, the state started a little later than most in February 4 of this year. That means we’re more than one-third into the session time where new laws can be put into place.
Knowing that, what is the state of legal sports betting? Heck, legal betting of any kind since Alabama doesn’t even have a state-run lottery? Welp, it’s not looking hopeful for 2025 — and if a senator is to be believed, probably not 2026 either. Let’s take you into what’s going on in The Heart of Dixie:
Senate Support Is Still Lacking
There’s been little support from Alabama lawmakers in the issue of gambling. The conservative culture — Alabama is as Deep South as it gets — hasn’t budged one bit. The lonely voice in support of legal wagering has been Alabama state senator Greg Albritton, a Republican by the way. He’s created bills in the past, and is trying again in 2025.
One issue: Albritton can’t find the support he needs to pass anything. He’s said so himself, saying he won’t have enough votes among other senate members to pass anything — and that’s a big miss, according to him.
“Alabama has a moral obligation to take control of this industry that’s just expanding like crazy,” said Albritton. “You look at sports gaming. Sports gaming is on a runaway track. Everyone’s involved in it. It’s in every medium that you see. And we’re just sitting back watching it grow, doing nothing about it.
Ah, yes, a moral obligation. More like a right to tax bettors in the state who are betting illegally. It’s true, Alabama has one of the hottest markets for offshore sportsbooks. These work perfectly fine in the state, and for most, it’s their only real option. That’s an open secret that even Albritton is privy to.
“We’re suffering from the ills of it and will continue to suffer even more so until we do our duty and take control of this industry.”
Take control of the industry indeed, that’s what 39 other states in the country have done. Once Missouri legalized sports betting, that left only 11 states without any legal infrastructure. Ironically, many of those are near Alabama in Georgia and North Carolina. These southern states are still preaching to the choir about how bad the industry is.
The House At Odds Too
If the Senate’s situation wasn’t dire enough, the House is arguably worse — and Albritton can’t do a single thing about it here. If you remember, in 2024, it was the House that led the way on Alabama sports betting. They passed a bill that included provisions for it, plus a lottery and casinos too. This bill was stripped down in the Senate before falling one vote short of the three-fifths majority required to pass.
Ironically, Albritton voted against the compromised bill. He wanted a more all-inclusive package, which was originally what the House wanted. The Senate had stripped out sports betting entirely, among other things in its version. Unfortunately, that might be as close as Alabama gets to legal gambling anytime soon.
Recently, House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter — who led the House’s effort on the legislation last year — said that this time around, they would taking a wait-and-see approach with the Senate. “The House has done their due diligence last year,” she said before the session began in February. “If anything happens, it will have to be out of the Senate.”
Senate President Pro Tem Garlan Gudger has expressed support for a lottery vote, believing the public should have a say. However, he said he would not push the issue unless stronger support emerges in the Senate, adding that he does not want another lottery bill to fail by a single vote.
Albritton, who chairs the Senate’s General Fund Committee, said he has been working on the legislation daily, reaching out to colleagues in an attempt to secure enough support. Drafting the bill itself is not the challenge, he explained, as it can largely follow past proposals — the real obstacle is convincing senators to commit to a vote.
“The biggest problem is there’s a feeling out there that they’re fatigued of it,” Albritton said. “They don’t want this to be addressed. They don’t want to have to have a vote on it.”
Passing A Bill In 2026 Will Be More Difficult
We wish we could end with a positive message, but we don’t want to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes. If 2025 isn’t the year for legal gambling, then 2026 is even less likely.
This comes straight from Albritton’s mouth. That’s because 2026 is an election year where all of the state’s legislative seats will be on the ballot. According to the Senator, lawmakers generally do not want to tackle controversial issues in an election year — nothing that could lose them their seats.
“So, if we don’t get it done this year, it’s going to be a while before we get back to it, I’m afraid,” he said.
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