The Alabama House of Representatives has given its blessing to a pair of bills that would bring legal sports betting — and much more — to the Heart of Dixie.
House Bill 151 and House Bill 152 were passed Thursday by the full Alabama House by votes of 70-32 and 67-31 (plus one abstention) in favor, respectively.
The bills provide for a new state lottery, additional casinos, and, yes sports betting in Alabama, among other things.
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According to one of its sponsors, the bills are trying to address the existing illegal gambling already happening in the state and to smooth over other gaming-related issues, which could include people already betting with offshore sites.
There were also more than 35,000 geolocation checks from devices in Alabama trying to access legal online sportsbooks during this past Super Bowl weekend, reported GeoComply Solutions Inc., a technology company that helps determine the location of bettors. That suggests interest in Alabama in legal online sports betting.
“They say in a lot of movies … ‘Houston, we have a problem,’” Republican Rep. Chris Blackshear told the House. “But I'm here to stand before you today and say Alabama, we have a problem, and today's our opportunity to take one big step forward in fixing that problem.”
Rolling tide of legalization
Thursday’s votes mean the legislation, which proposes a massive expansion of gambling in the state, is on its way to the Alabama Senate for further scrutiny and possible passage. It also brings Alabama closer to joining the other 38 states that have authorized sports betting, including several neighbors.
H.B. 151 proposes an amendment to the state constitution (and therefore requires the support of three-fifths of legislators) that, if also approved by voters in November, would authorize a state lottery, additional casinos, sports wagering, raffles, and bingo.
Its counterpart, H.B. 152, provides more detail about Alabama’s proposed gambling expansion, including the potential to license multiple sportsbook operators for in-person and online wagering.
According to the latter bill, casinos could have brick-and-mortar sportsbooks and operators such as DraftKings and FanDuel could apply for online sports betting licenses with still-to-be-determined fees. Talladega Superspeedway could also apply for a temporary permit for in-person sports betting during its race weekends.
Both bills were tweaked by the House of Representatives' economic development and tourism committee on Wednesday. Those changes were approved by the whole House on Thursday.
Nick Saban's name has been dropped at least four times during this debate, which is ongoing
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) February 15, 2024
The most substantive sports betting amendment was ensuring the 10% of sports wagering revenue generated (via a 17% tax) that is earmarked for each of the state's sheriff's departments is given to those departments.
H.B. 152 also now states that the sports wagering proceeds for law enforcement must be in addition to other funding from the county commissions and not replacing existing funding sources for the sheriffs.
Thursday's passage by the House came after lengthy and sometimes tedious discussion of two bills, including several mentions of former Alabama football coach Nick Saban.
Ultimately, though, enough representatives agreed to ensure safe passage of the bills.
"I think we took a big step forward today to correcting some of the wrongs in the state of Alabama," Blackshear said.
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