A bill being introduced in Alabama could allow voters to have their say on whether they want sports betting legalized as soon as this year.
It had been thought any move to introduce a ballot measure in this legislative session would face obstacles, but comments from Alabama State Senator Merika Coleman suggest otherwise.
Bill to create gambling oversight committee
The bill would put a constitutional amendment to a statewide vote, empowering the governor to establish a gambling commission and enabling lawmakers to begin drafting legislation to regulate a lottery, gaming and sports betting.
The Alabama Constitution bans lotteries, meaning any bill that seeks to legalize one or expand gambling must first clear the hurdle of a constitutional amendment. That requires a three-fifths majority, which equates to 21 of 35 senators and 63 of 105 representatives, to advance the measure to the ballot for voters to decide.
Speaking to AL.com, Coleman said lawmakers would have to pay close attention to the legislation: “The devil is in the details, and we’ve gotten caught up by them,” she said, referring to the failure to pass the ballot measure by the senate in 2024.
“This bill simply gives us the ability to come back and actually establish gaming in the state of Alabama. It’s not just the lottery, it’s gaming, it’s sports betting, it’s all of the stuff that folks are talking about.”
Any prospective ballot measure, if approved, would help the state deal with some shortcomings in the state’s financial reserves.
Bill imperative to help cover looming budget shortfalls, says Coleman
It could be the first time the option to legalize gambling has been on the ballot since 1999, when voters rejected the push by a margin of 54% to 46%.
But with looming budget cuts to SNAP and Medicaid, a result of Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, the state will need to find the difference, says Coleman.
“We have some major deficits coming at us and we’re going to have to figure out where in the world this revenue will come from. (The year) ‘27 is going to be hard, but ‘28 is going to be doggone near impossible if we don’t have some type of new revenue.”
While gambling revenue rarely exceeds a small share of overall state budgets, supporters argue it can help diversify revenue streams and fund specific priorities without raising broad-based taxes.
Coleman also pointed out that the state is losing out on valuable income to other states: “All of this gaming money is now going across the borders,” she added.
Alabama watches on while other states declare record gambling revenue
Other states in the region continue to post record gambling revenues, sharpening the contrast with Alabama’s continued prohibition.
Neighbors such as Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana have all benefited from regulated sports betting markets, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in handle and tens of millions in tax receipts annually.
In October and November alone last year, Tennessee generated more than $24 million in tax revenue, while Mississippi’s long-established casino sector remains a reliable contributor to state and local budgets.
In New York recently, they posted a record $26.3 billion in sports betting wagers in 2025, up 15% from the previous year.
Many are arguing for tax reform in Alabama, which some analysts believe lags behind other states in various key facets.
A 2025 report from the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama suggests the state “collects less tax revenue, relies heavily on sales taxes and maintains a structurally imbalanced system.” Experts hope the move to legalize the practice will provide a much needed injection into the Alabama economy.
Gambling illegal in Alabama since records began
Alabama’s broad prohibition on gambling stems from Article IV, Section 65 of the 1901 state Constitution, which says the legislature “shall have no power to authorize lotteries or gift enterprises… and all acts… authorizing a lottery… are hereby avoided”, effectively making most gambling illegal unless voters first amend the Constitution.
Because of that longstanding ban, efforts to authorize a state lottery, casinos or sports betting must clear a supermajority in the legislature and then be approved by voters.
There have been multiple failed attempts by lawmakers to change the status quo. In 2019 and 2020, bills proposing sports betting and expanded casino gaming were introduced but failed to advance out of committee or the legislature.
In 2021 the state Senate passed SB 319, which would have authorized commercial casinos, a lottery and sports betting, but the House never took it up. In 2022, legislators filed bills (SB 293 and SB 294) to amend the constitution to allow a lottery and statewide mobile sports wagering, but those stalled before reaching voters.
However, with the state facing an onslaught of economic challenges and the opinion of many analysts that the state needs to modernize its budget, it could be the best chance for gambling legalization to be pushed through over the coming months.
