Is sports betting legal in Alabama?
No. Alabama has no licensed sportsbooks, retail or online, and no agency that could license one. Section 65 of the 1901 Constitution bars the Legislature from authorizing lotteries, so sports betting would need a constitutional amendment approved by three-fifths of each chamber and then by voters. Paid daily fantasy contests have been legal for players 19 and older since 2019.
Why it isn't legal yet
The votes haven't been there in the Senate, where a constitutional amendment needs 21 of 35 senators. The closest attempt came on April 30, 2024, when a compromise lottery and casino amendment got 20 votes. That version had already dropped sports betting. In 2025 the Senate leader declared gambling bills dead for the session, and in 2026 Sen. Merika Coleman's SB 257, which would have let voters approve a lottery, casinos and sports betting, died in the Senate Tourism Committee without a vote. No gambling bill is pending as of September 2026.
The Poarch Band of Creek Indians, a federally recognized tribe, runs casinos in Atmore, Montgomery and Wetumpka. It has no compact with the state, so under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act its casinos are limited to Class II games such as electronic bingo, and they take no sports bets.
The history of sports betting law in Alabama
The 1901 Constitution and the bingo amendments
Section 65 says the Legislature "shall have no power to authorize lotteries or gift enterprises for any purposes" and must pass laws banning the sale of lottery tickets. The criminal code defines gambling to include staking something of value on a "future contingent event" and covers bookmaking, and knowingly taking part in unlawful gambling is a Class C misdemeanor. A separate civil statute, Ala. Code 8-1-150, lets a loser, or another person suing for the loser's family, recover money lost on a game or wager.
What legal gambling Alabama has comes from local amendments. Voters ratified bingo amendments for Greene County (Amendment 743) and Macon County (Amendment 744) in 2003, and electronic machines that operators called bingo spread under those and similar county amendments. Those machines are the subject of the state court cases below.
The 1999 lottery vote
On October 12, 1999, voters rejected Gov. Don Siegelman's education lottery amendment, 672,802 (54.2%) to 568,289 (45.8%). No lottery amendment has gone to voters since.
Daily fantasy: banned in 2016, legalized in 2019
Attorney General Luther Strange sent cease-and-desist letters to DraftKings and FanDuel on April 5, 2016, saying paid daily fantasy contests were illegal gambling because chance plays too large a role. He issued no formal opinion. On April 29, 2016 he announced settlements under which both companies stopped taking Alabama players on May 2, 2016. Rep. Kyle South's HB 361, the Fantasy Contests Act, passed the House 74-22 on May 8, 2019; the Senate raised the tax from 8% to 10.5% and passed it 22-8 on May 28, 2019, and the House concurred 82-16 that day. It became Act 2019-343.
Bills after Murphy v. NCAA, 2019 to 2026
The Supreme Court struck down the federal sports betting ban on May 14, 2018, but Section 65 kept Alabama's own ban in place. In 2021 Sen. Del Marsh's lottery and casino amendment, SB 214, failed in the Senate 19-13 on March 9. SB 319, which would have created a lottery and a gaming commission and authorized a Poarch Creek compact, passed the Senate 23-9 on April 13, 2021 and died in the House.
Rep. Chris Blackshear's HB 151 (the constitutional amendment) and HB 152 (the enabling law) passed the House on February 15, 2024, HB 151 by 70-32, with a lottery, limited casino gambling and sports betting. The Senate passed both 22-11 on March 7 after stripping out sports betting and casino games. A conference committee's compromise on April 30 allowed electronic games of chance at seven sites and kept a Poarch Creek compact but left sports betting out. The House approved it 72-29 and 70-29. That night the Senate voted 20-15 on HB 151, one vote short of 21, and carried the bill over. It died when the session ended.
On April 3, 2025, Senate President Pro Tem Garlan Gudger said a new comprehensive bill was "too little, too late" and had too few votes, and Sen. Greg Albritton didn't file his trimmed-down version. Coleman filed SB 257 on February 3, 2026. It would have asked voters to allow a lottery, casino gaming, in-person and online sports betting, a gaming commission and a Poarch Creek compact, with details left to later legislation. Rep. Phillip Ensler's lottery-only "Clean Lottery Act" hadn't had a committee hearing as of March 6, 2026.
Sports betting court cases in Alabama
The electronic bingo cases, 2009 to 2016
In Barber v. Cornerstone Community Outreach, 42 So. 3d 65, decided November 13, 2009, the Alabama Supreme Court held that "bingo" in the local amendments means the game traditionally known as bingo, which it defined by six characteristics, and reversed a preliminary injunction that had protected the electronic machines at issue. It applied that test to every local bingo amendment in State v. Greenetrack, Inc., 154 So. 3d 940 (April 1, 2014), and vacated Greene County judgments that had ordered seized machines returned. Houston County Economic Development Authority v. State, 168 So. 3d 4 (November 21, 2014), reaffirmed it for Houston County.
The VictoryLand casino in Macon County litigated for three years. On February 15, 2013 the court ordered a circuit judge to issue a search warrant for it, and state agents raided the casino on February 19, 2013. Montgomery Circuit Judge William Shashy, appointed to hear the case, dismissed the state's forfeiture action on equal-protection grounds on June 25, 2015. On March 31, 2016, in State v. $223,405.86, the Supreme Court reversed and entered judgment for the state, writing that there was "no longer any room for uncertainty" about the meaning of bingo. On December 23, 2016 it ruled for the state again in a Greenetrack forfeiture and held, in Macon County Greyhound Park v. Hoffman, that contracts resting on gambling consideration are void, arbitration clauses included.
Alabama v. PCI Gaming Authority (11th Cir. 2015)
Alabama sued the Poarch Band's gaming authority and tribal officials in the Middle District of Alabama (No. 2:13-cv-00178) to shut the tribal casinos as a public nuisance. The Eleventh Circuit affirmed dismissal on September 3, 2015 (No. 14-12004, 801 F.3d 1278). It held that the authority had tribal sovereign immunity, that the state couldn't collaterally attack the Interior Secretary's decision to take the casino land into trust under Carcieri v. Salazar, and that 18 U.S.C. 1166 gives states no right of action.
Jennings v. Kalshi (2026)
Christopher Jennings filed a class action against Kalshi's entities and the Susquehanna market-making firms in the Middle District of Alabama on January 29, 2026 (No. 2:26-cv-00071), seeking to recover Alabama users' losses under the loss-recovery statute and an injunction. It was the first prediction market suit in the state. On February 26, 2026 the defendants moved jointly to change venue, and the case went to the Southern District of New York (No. 1:26-cv-01924). There it was accepted on March 11 as related to In re Kalshi Sports Prediction Market Litigation (No. 1:25-cv-08585), before Judge Jennifer L. Rochon, and the separate docket was closed on March 20, 2026.
Willis v. Kalshi (2026)
Nick Willis sued in Franklin County Circuit Court on March 20, 2026 (No. CV-2026-900076) under Section 8-1-150(b), seeking losses of Alabama customers for their families. Kalshi removed the case to the Northern District of Alabama on April 29 (No. 3:26-cv-722), arguing that its sports contracts are swaps governed by the Commodity Exchange Act. On September 8, 2026 Judge Harold D. Mooty III granted remand. Preemption is a defense, he wrote, and doesn't create federal jurisdiction; he relied on the Alabama Supreme Court's 2025 holding in Zynga, Inc. v. Mills that a subsection (b) claim is derivative of the loser's own claim. He didn't decide whether the contracts are gambling. The case returns to Franklin County.
Federal appeals rulings that bear on Alabama
The Eleventh Circuit, which covers Alabama, hasn't ruled on whether the Commodity Exchange Act preempts state gambling law for sports event contracts. The Third Circuit ruled for Kalshi against New Jersey on April 6, 2026 in KalshiEX v. Flaherty (No. 25-1922). The Ninth Circuit ruled against Kalshi in Nevada on August 28, 2026 in KalshiEX v. Assad (No. 25-7516), and Kalshi sought rehearing en banc on September 9. On September 25, 2026 the Sixth Circuit held in KalshiEX v. Schuler (Nos. 26-3196 and 26-5235) that the contracts aren't swaps and that the act doesn't preempt state gambling laws. None of these binds Alabama courts. New Jersey's certiorari petition is No. 26-299, and Kalshi's response is due November 9, 2026.
Prediction markets and daily fantasy
We found no lawsuit, cease-and-desist letter or opinion from Attorney General Steve Marshall against Kalshi, Polymarket, Crypto.com, Robinhood, Underdog or Novig. On July 27, 2026 Marshall joined 43 other attorneys general in comments urging the CFTC to rewrite its proposed event-contract rule and to confirm that sports contracts remain subject to state law. The only Alabama prediction market cases are the two private suits above. Kalshi and Polymarket are available to Alabamians, and FanDuel Predicts, run with CME Group, launched sports contracts in Alabama in December 2025. Novig, a CFTC-regulated market operated by Ludlow Exchange, LLC (a designated contract market since June 16, 2026), accepts Alabama users 21 and older with ID, since its eligibility page excludes only Nevada, Arizona and Michigan.
Daily fantasy operators register with the Attorney General's office. Operators with more than $10 million in revenue pay an $85,000 renewal fee and others pay $1,000, and all pay a 10.5% annual tax on gross fantasy revenue, which goes to the General Fund. Players must be 19, and contests on high school or youth sports are banned.
Help with a gambling problem
The Alabama Council on Problem Gambling & Gaming promotes the national helpline, 1-800-MY-RESET. You can also text 800GAM.
Sources
Alabama State Lottery, Amendment 1, October 1999 (Ballotpedia)
Alabama attorney general says daily fantasy is illegal, 2016 (Legal Sports Report)
DraftKings and FanDuel settlements, April 29, 2016 (Alabama Attorney General)
Fantasy sports operator registration (Alabama Attorney General)
House approves lottery, casino and sports wagering package, February 15, 2024 (Alabama Reflector)
Senate passes stripped-down gambling legislation, March 2024 (Alabama Reflector)
Gambling package stalls in the Senate, April 30, 2024 (Alabama Reflector)
Alabama State Lottery and Gambling Amendment, 2024 (Ballotpedia)
Senate leader declares gambling bills dead for 2025 (Alabama Reflector)
No Alabama sports betting legislation in 2025 (Legal Sports Report)
Barber v. Cornerstone Community Outreach, November 13, 2009 (Justia)
Ex parte State (State v. Greenetrack), April 1, 2014 (FindLaw)
State v. $223,405.86 (VictoryLand), March 31, 2016 (FindLaw)
Attorney general statement on the VictoryLand decision (Alabama Attorney General)
Greenetrack and Hoffman decisions, December 23, 2016 (Alabama Attorney General)
Alabama v. PCI Gaming Authority, Eleventh Circuit, September 3, 2015 (Justia)
Jennings v. Kalshi Inc., No. 2:26-cv-00071, M.D. Ala. docket (CourtListener)
Jennings v. Kalshi Inc., No. 1:26-cv-01924, S.D.N.Y. docket (CourtListener)
Willis v. Kalshi Inc., No. 3:26-cv-722, N.D. Ala. docket (Justia)
Willis v. Kalshi, memorandum opinion granting remand, September 8, 2026 (Justia)
KalshiEX v. Schuler, Sixth Circuit opinion, September 25, 2026 (Justia)
Marshall joins 44-state comments to the CFTC (Yellowhammer News)
AG Marshall: sports prediction markets subject to state law (1819 News)
FanDuel Predicts and Kalshi in Alabama (Alabama Political Reporter)
FanDuel and CME Group launch FanDuel Predicts, December 22, 2025 (CME Group)