Alabama Sports Betting Could Be Worth $400M

The future of Alabama sports betting is beyond uncertain, but the money being left on the table by not legalizing is not.

Spoiler alert: It’s a lot. Like, close to half-a-billion-dollars a lot.

State representative Andy Whitt was recently among The Crimson State’s lawmakers who spoke with Matthew King of NBC affiliate WAFF 48 about the direction of legislation to legalize sports betting in Alabama. According to his estimates, around $50 to $75 million in potential tax revenue is being passed on by refusing to change the state’s gaming laws. That number grows to $300 or $400 million once you factor in the absence of a state lottery.

“When you Google ‘sports betting,’ Alabama ranks number one in that list,” Whitt told King. “It’s very disappointing to me at the amount of traffic that’s going over Alabama’s lines and border to Tennessee, and we’re educating Tennessee’s children as a response to that.”

Representative Whitt May Be Overstating Some Things

A quick fact-check of Whitt’s comments does a disservice to his revenue estimates. The first result when you Google “sports betting” is not Alabama. And if it is, that’s probably because of your location. In Whitt’s case, it might even be the result of him Googling something more specific, such as “states without legal sports betting.”

We also need to take his note about how The Crimson State is “educating” children in The Volunteer State because it hasn’t legalized sports betting. Since sports betting in Tennessee launched, about $276 million in total tax revenue has been directed toward educational services, according to WARK in Nashville. Firstly, it is impossible to discern how much of that money was generated from sports bettors who call Alabama home. Beyond that, up until this past July, public schools in Tennessee benefited very little from those sports gambling funds.

Still, Whitt’s recent comments do get to the heart of a larger issue: Are policymakers in The Crimson State actively in favor of Alabama sports betting? Or does he count himself among the minority?

While it does not seem as if the vast majority of lawmakers in The Crimson State actively support legal sports betting in the United States, they do seem in favor of letting voters decide what happens next. Their reasoning boils down to a confluence of factors, including money already being spent in Tennessee, as well as on the illegal markets.

Policymakers Seem in Favor of Letting Voters Choose the Fate of Alabama Sports Betting

Consider the following excerpt from King’s piece:

“Officials in Tennessee said they noticed a trend of bettors traveling to the state and placing wagers. ‘There is traffic around the borders, particularly along states that don’t have some sort of sports wagering,’ said David Smith from the Tennessee Sports Wagering Council. Alabama lawmakers also acknowledge an uptick in illegal sports betting already happening in Alabama. ‘It’s simple: The bookies win, the people lose, and the state of Alabama is left holding an empty bag,’ Whitt said.

“State Senator Arthur Orr also shared concerns about illegal gambling in the state. ‘The legitimate companies in sports betting geo-fence and won’t allow people here to bet using their app or their website, but as I’ve said, there are a whole host of other means to place bets if you’re sitting in Alabama,’ Orr said. ‘That doesn’t seem like it’s a level or even playing field.’ Orr argued that the reason sports betting and lottery fail every year is complicated legislation grouping them together. He added that Alabamians prefer to vote on the topic themselves. ‘If you took a poll today, the people overwhelmingly say they want to vote on a lottery,’ he said. ‘The problem becomes that other gaming interests want to tie their particular section to that lottery. If they can’t connect themselves to the lottery, they won’t let the lottery pass.’”

Senator Orr’s comments ring most true here. Every piece of Alabama sports betting legislation has ultimately failed because it was tied to other gaming activities. The question: Is sports betting the ancillary add-on that’s causing so many problems?

Voter Sentiment on Sports Gambling in Alabama is Currently Unclear

A previously conducted poll showed that a majority of Alabamians support the formation of a state lottery and casino-law expansion. While sentiments toward these issues often align with sports betting legalization, this particular matter isn’t featured on the survey.

Still, the results at the very least point toward a population open to various forms of gambling.

Conducted by KAConsulting LLC, the poll illustrated a whopping 80 percent support for an Alabama state lottery. Meanwhile, as noted by John Sharp of Alabama.com, 64 percent of respondents apparently backed the expansion of casino gaming.

The latter category is the one most often tied to sports betting. That makes sense. So many retail sportsbooks are located inside casinos. There is a reason why places such as Texas seem unlikely to legalize sports betting before adapting their views on casinos.

In this case, the 64 percent approval rating is far from a home run. Again, this is just for those in favor of casinos. The number could be lower when baking Alabama sports betting legislation into the equation. However, the support for casino-law expansion remains large enough to justify testing the waters on sports betting—if not with a ballot measure, then certainly with a poll dedicated specifically to it.

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