The Alabama House of Representatives is set to discuss the idea of legalizing sports betting in the coming weeks.
Rep. Jeremy Gray and four co-sponsors introduced HB 490 this week. The legislation has been referred to the Economic Development and Tourism Committee.
The bill proposed by Gray, a former football player, would create the Alabama Gaming Commission and regulate a legal market for not only sports betting but also electronic games of chance. It would also establish a state lottery.
Leal sports betting would include in-game wagering and proposition bets, among a range of other types of wager, but would not include fantasy sports.
Sports betting would be taxed at just 10% of revenue under the proposal in its current form. An undetermined number of licenses would be issued for online and retail betting, and a suggested license fee is also not included in the text.
Bill addresses college athletes
The bill, which would set the sports betting age limit at 21, also includes certain provisions relating specifically to college athletes.
It would establish an NIL Oversight Committee, which would have the responsibility of regulating name, image, and likeness (NIL) compensation for paid high school student-athletes. High school athletes would be authorized to receive NIL compensation, subject to certain conditions.
In addition, one-fifth of all sports betting tax revenue would be dedicated to the NIL Trust Fund to protect and support high school student-athletes and coaches.
Betting on college sports would be legal but betting on the grounds of K-12 schools or other amateur youth sports or athletic events would not.
A rocky road ahead
Gaining enough support could be tough.
Last year, a sports betting proposal in the House died in the Senate, and House leaders said that any gambling legislation this year would need to come from the Senate’s side.
Gambling advocate Sen. Greg Albritton is doing his best to push the issue and told local media this week that he has drafted a new bill. However, he has reiterated that he feels he is still short of the support needed to get the bill through the chamber.
“Frankly, I think we’re closer than we want to admit,” he suggested this week, although he acknowledged that for many lawmakers, the easiest thing to do is to avoid making a decision. “Why stick your head out of the trench if you don’t have to,” as he put it.
The idea of legal sports betting does have support from the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, who currently operate casino resorts on tribal land, as well as Alabama native Charles Barkley, who said recently he believes sports betting should be part of any gambling expansion proposal.
Any effort to launch a market in Alabama would require a constitutional amendment and a public vote. The legislative session in Alabama runs until May 15.
