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Alabama Senator Pours Cold Water on Sports Betting Legalization

Robert Linnehan

By Robert Linnehan in Sports Betting News

Published:


NCAA Basketball: Alabama at Texas A&M
Jan 11, 2025; College Station, Texas, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide guards Labaron Philon (0) and Mark Sears (1) react after the final buzzer against the Texas A&M Aggies at Reed Arena. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images
  • Sen. David Sessions (R-35) did not mince words when it came to Alabama’s sports betting future
  • Sessions last week told Jeff Poor of the “The Jeff Poor Show” that legalized gambling needs to be in best interest of the state
  • Hinted that any bill has a steep hill to climb during the state’s legislative session

One Alabama senator is already dashing hopes for legalized sports betting chances in The Yellowhammer State

Sen. David Sessions (R-35), appearing last week on Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5’s “The Jeff Poor Show,” said sports betting and legalized gambling will likely be discussed by state lawmakers again this year. However, Sessions noted that he believes this is “not a good way fund government.”

Alabama sports betting gained momentum early in the state’s 2024 session, being approved by the House of Representatives, but was never fully embraced by the Senate.

Must Be Beneficial for the State

Sessions told host Jeff Poor did not outright say sports betting would not be supports, but he did say he was unsure of how much support legalized gambling efforts would have in the upcoming session.

“It’s not a good way to fund government, and the economy turns bad again, and it will because those things cycle — it’s not a necessity, and if people are smart, they won’t be spending their power bill money on lottery tickets and gambling,” he said during the interview.

In 2024, the House of Representatives approved two gaming bills to legalize a state lottery, casinos, and sports betting. The House approved bills HB 151 and HB 152, which called for the legalization of up to seven casinos, in-person and online sports betting, and a state lottery to support Alabama education.

The bills required a constitutional amendment to legalize the new forms of gambling, which state voters would have had to approved during the general election.

Sessions said he supports letting voters have the final say on legalized gambling, but before it goes to a vote Alabama lawmakers will need to devise the most beneficial structure for the state.

“Now, I don’t mind letting the people vote. But, it’s our job as the senator and the representatives, if we send something to the people to vote on, it needs to be something that’s good for the state of Alabama, and not something that’s just good for the gambling interest for the sake of having money in the government to fund government,” he said.

Gambling Efforts in 2024 Fizzled Out

So how did Alabama get to this point? During last year’s session, two gaming bills were quickly approved by the House of Representatives. However, a Senate committee quickly dashed hopes for sports betting in the state. The Senate Tourism Committee entirely stripped sports betting from the gaming packages, leaving only the approval of three tribal casinos, a state lottery, and pari-mutuel wagering on horse and dog races at seven state tracks.

The Alabama Senate eventually approved the bills, but the House did not concur with the expansive changes and requested a conference committee to work through their disagreements.

The conference committee submitted a report to the House that included amended bills allowing a state lottery and up to seven licensed slot parlors in Alabama. The conference report, however, did not include the legalization of full casinos, table games, or sports betting in the Yellowhammer State.

The House approved the amended bills, but they eventually stalled out in the Senate, with reports claiming they were one vote short of approval.

Robert Linnehan
Robert Linnehan

Regulatory Writer and Editor

Rob covers all regulatory developments in online gambling. He specializes in US sports betting news along with casino regulation news as one of the most trusted sources in the country.

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