Alabama Legal Online Gambling 2024

The minimum legal gambling age in Alabama is 18 for charitable gambling like raffles and bingo games, pari-mutuel wagering at the Birmingham Race Course, and similar fare.

Meanwhile, AL gamblers must be 19 years old to wager on horse and dog races at Mobile Greyhound Park and in Green County. Although live dog races have been suspended as of March 2020, simulcast greyhound betting is still offered.

Land-based casino venues like tribal casinos and riverboat casinos require players to be a minimum of 21 years of age to participate.

That said, these are the following ages for the offshore betting markets available to Alabama residents and guests:

• Legal Online Casinos AL: 18-plus
• Legal Online Sports Betting AL: 18-plus
• Legal Online Poker AL: 18-plus
• Legal Online Horse Racing AL: 18-plus

Alabama gambling laws are very clear concerning what types of gambling are illegal.

Unlike most states, Alabama does not make exceptions for local players versus domestic providers of illegal gambling. Basically, the state expects you to be making informed decisions regarding your involvement in local betting entertainment, and ignorance is not a defense in Alabama.

Knowingly profiting from an illegal gambling activity as a player carries a charge of "simple gambling," which is a Class C misdemeanor. Any person who illegally operates a "gambling device" (i.e. an electronic casino game or betting kiosk which others may use) can be charged with a Class A misdemeanor and face up to a year in jail and a $6000 fine.

That said, there are no laws whatsoever against individuals who gamble for real money at offshore international betting sites, which is why we advise that all gamblers forego local "underground" options and instead stick with real online AL casinos, online AL sports betting sites, and online AL poker rooms like those listed on this page.

Casino Gambling – There are four Indian casinos operating in Alabama, as well as multiple riverboat casino destinations. Other than these two Class II options, commercial casino gambling is not legal in Alabama. Offshore online casino gambling is legal as long as you visit a site that has been legitimately licensed and regulated outside of the United States. These sites are the only places for AL residents to play slots, table games like blackjack and roulette, and other casino classics.

Poker Gambling – Poker games for real money are not legal in Alabama. However, online poker rooms are filling this void nicely. Offering players a chance to enjoy some online poker gaming from their computers, smartphones, or tablets. You are not violating any state or federal laws by participating in legally licensed and regulated offshore online poker games in Alabama. It is also legal in AL to play "social poker" or engage in "social gambling," which are private games among acquaintances where no house entity takes a cut or rake off the top.

Pari-mutuel Wagering – Pari-mutuel wagering is a legal form of gambling in Alabama. In addition to state-licensed betting on races, legally licensed online sportsbooks also offer AL residents a chance to legally bet on horse races and dog races online.

Lottery Gambling - There is technically no permitted lottery gambling run by the state or other US states (i.e. national lotteries like the Powerball or Mega Millions promotions) available within Alabama. However, there are several licensed offshore online lottery sites which allow AL players to purchase tickets and play online.

We aren't really sure. Online gambling expansion is easy to predict in many states given their histories and local brick-and-mortar betting options, but AL is a real wild card.

AL betting legislation was introduced several years ago that would have provided the regulatory structure for legal non-tribal casino gambling to emerge in the state, as well as the establishment of a state lottery.

However, AL SB340 (2016) was unable to garner enough support.

A second bill was filed to the Alabama legislature to allow for a state lottery, but this has also been abandoned.

As far as state-licensed online gambling goes, there has yet to be any introduction of any bill permitting such, whether for sports betting, iGaming (i.e. online casino games), or poker.

While Alabama may eventually embrace online gambling, there doesn't appear to be any movement in that direction as of now, with the latest congressional initiatives from 2021 meeting similar fates to the above.

However, with many states offering legal sports betting and AL being home to a number of prominent teams, there is speculation that AL online sports betting would be the first type of locally licensed gambling offered in the state once any real expansion effort is made.

Alabama has seen several sports gambling bills introduced in the AL House of Representatives over the last few years.

The 2019 bill, known as HB 315 (or the Alabama Sports Wagering Act), was sponsored by Rep. John Rogers. HB 315 would have created the Alabama Sports Wagering Commission and established several other betting provisions.

The bill died in committee, and HB 336 was introduced in early 2020 to replace it. But this, too, was DOA.

However, we expect the state to regularly push forward on legal online sports betting, AL being what it is in the college sports market.

Roll Tide, and change the tide!