There are countless people who still can't believe that Alabama is yet to get things over the line when it comes to legal wagers. Alabama betting can't seem to get the green light, and officials in the state certainly are not helping. With countless people calling out officials, you can add a basketball Hall of Famer to the list. That's right, news has come in of NBA legend Charles Barkley calling for Alabama to bring in sports betting.

Is this something that could raise some eyebrows soon, but in a good way? Barkley is a legend in the state, as he played his college basketball at Auburn. Now, Barkley, still in the national spotlight, is tired of seeing legal sports betting in well over 30 states, but Alabama is yet to do anything. Barkley knows that Alabama is missing out on a ton of potential revenue, and with illegal gambling still being an issue, it's time for something to change, he said.

“That’s just silly, we should have it. We need sports gambling, we should’ve had the lottery thirty years ago,” Barkley said in a recent interview you can see below. “It would improve our public school system. People who block it, their kids go to private school. We shouldn’t let these other states get so far ahead of us. Those programs raise so much money for the school systems, people are going to gamble, so why not let the state and the people profit from it?”

Barkley makes a ton of good points there. Right now, people are indeed finding ways to gamble that are not legal. On top of that, the prediction markets continue to be in operation in the state. Alabama is missing out on a ton of options for legalization, but nothing is getting moved in a positive direction. It will be interesting to see if things will be legalized in 2027 or down the road, but the hope is that Barkley's opinion on this will turn some heads.

Alabama is one of only 11 states without legal sports betting

Right now, what makes all of this even worse is that Alabama is one of only 11 states without legal sports betting. Yes, there are 39 states with at minimum in-person betting, while more than 30 have online wagers in place. Alabama doesn't have anything over the line, which is why Barkley and others are so upset with things.

There have been talks about Alabama trying to make some history in 2027 by getting things authorized, but that plan isn't looking overly strong right now. There continues to be a ton of opposition for legal sports betting, with officials continuing to bring up gambling addiction as one of the main reasons why they don't want to see this happen.

However, as Barkley so eloquently has pointed out, people are finding ways to place their sports bets anyways. Add in the prediction markets being legal and it's no wonder that Barkley is being so outspoken here. The time for legal sports betting in Alabama is now, but it doesn't seem like people in charge of getting this done have any urgency in making that happen, which is a huge shame.

NBA and NFL betting would be sky-high in Alabama right now if things were legal

Perhaps what makes things even more infuriating for everyone involved is that NBA and NFL betting would be sky-high in Alabama right now if things were legal. With NFL betting, we have now reached Week 6 of the action, which is hard to believe. While Alabama doesn't have a pro team, there's plenty of interest in the Atlanta Falcons over in Georgia.

Meanwhile for the action on the hardwood, yes, Alabama doesn't have a pro team either, but people really like the Atlanta Hawks too. Because of no legal in-person or online sports betting, people are relying on the prediction markets for their wagers, and nothing is going to change there until Alabama brings in legal options on its own.

Barkley of course isn't the only celebrity who has been active in trying to get the laws changed, but nothing is giving people much hope that things are going to be given a 180. For now, only time will tell if legal bets on NFL and NBA action will arrive within the next 2-3 years, but there isn't much hope for that. Hopefully we're proven wrong, but optimism should not be high for local sports fans.