
As sports fans in Yellowhammer State, we've been researching the Alabama sports betting scene to see what’s legal here. This knowledge is important because you need to be sure you're not breaking the law.
We'll walk you through what we found about the sports betting situation in Alabama, show you a workaround, and recommend five legal alternatives to real money gaming sites you can explore to enjoy sports betting without breaking Alabama laws or spending real money. You'll find answers to burning questions you might have about the legality of sports betting in Alabama.
As of when writing this piece, sports betting in Alabama remains illegal. There have been previous attempts to legalize sports betting in the state, but they ultimately failed. Alabama has some of the most rigid gambling laws in the US, with no state lottery or in-person sportsbooks. The only legal betting option is horse racing, which is limited.
Category | Availability |
---|---|
Online Sports Betting | No, only social sportsbooks |
Retail Sports Betting | Unavailable |
Online Horse Racing | Available |
Online Casinos | No, only social/sweepstakes casinos |
Retail Casinos | Unavailable |
Tribal Casinos | Yes, but just three by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians |
Lottery | Unavailable |
Gambling Age | 18+ |
Last Verified | January 7th, 2025 |
Technically speaking, Alabama sports betting laws are non-existent, so no regulatory body is in place. However, new legislation (House Bill 151) aims to change that by setting up the Alabama Gaming Commission to handle licensing and taxes. It would also include a Gaming Enforcement Division to keep gaming practices in check.
Social sportsbooks are a great option if you're looking for legal alternatives to AL sports betting sites. These sites let you enjoy playing your favorite sports without upfront spending. Instead, they use virtual currencies like Gold Coins (GC) and Sweepstakes Coins (SC) for playing, and you can often get more through daily rewards or promotions. GC is for free gameplay, while accumulated SC can be redeemed for cash prizes. Social sportsbooks focus on fun and legal ways to experience sports gaming.
Now, here are some best social sportsbooks and what they offer:
During our SportsMillions review, we found that new bettors get a welcome bonus of 1,000 GC + 3 SC without a promo code. All you'd have to do is sign up, claim your welcome bonus, and use your GC or SC to enter a contest.
You'll then be automatically assigned your potential prize and lineup, after which you'll wait for the real-time outcome of each fixture to see if you've won. Its superb usability and top-tier functionality make it a great DFS app. We like that you can enjoy every feature available on the website on this app, such as checking player stats in DFS contests.
Legendz Sportsbook is one of the most user-friendly sites for online sports betting in Alabama. The homepage has a horizontal layout of major US sports and leagues, which makes navigation seamless.
While performing a Legendz review, we figured you could jump into popular options like Spread, Total, and Money Line bets for each game.
As a new user, you can enjoy up to 500 GC and 3 SC as a welcome bonus. From there, you can start making live predictions on the games. Beyond sports gaming, Legendz also features a selection of casino games.
Sportzino doesn't offer a dedicated app but a PWA, which provides the same user experience as a standalone application and is available for Android and iOS devices. Although the site offers only a PWA, special app-based promotions and bonuses are available if you use it.
Our Sportzino review showed that new gamers get up to 170,000 Gold Coins (GC) + 7 Sweepstakes Coins (SC) to explore sports betting in all sports leagues or play 1,000+ casino games. The site also offers seasonal promotions to its users.
Sportzino offers plenty of ways to bet on games like Moneylines, Totals, and Spreads. There's also live betting and streaming for esports enthusiasts.
Thrillzz keeps things exciting with tons of bonuses, a competitive leaderboard to challenge your friends, and a massive selection of top leagues from the US and beyond. When you sign up on Thrillzz, you get a generous welcome bonus of 3,000 Thrillzz Coins and 3 Thrillzz Sweeps to enjoy, among other daily login bonuses and loyalty rewards.
We spent much time on our Thrillzz review and discovered it is mobile-only, which means you can only play from Android, iOS, or web apps.
The Fliff app offers access to an impressive variety of betting lines for sporting events in leagues such as the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL. It's available for iOS and Android users. It is easy to download and install and offers a top-rate user experience.
When we signed up for our Fliff review, we used the bonus code PROMOGUYSOCIAL to unlock a welcome offer of 5,000 Fliff Coins + 1 Fliff Cash and a 100% matched coin purchase offer. However, participation in its sweepstakes promotions is limited to specific states, so you can only claim Fliff Cash if you reside in the eligible states. You won't be able to claim Fliff Cash or redeem it for real prizes if you live in Washington, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, or Tennessee. Overall, the app's betting features and ease of use make it one of popular free sports betting apps in Alabama.
No. Social betting sites operate a sweepstakes model and are primarily for fun, so you cannot win real money on these sites. Understand no sportsbooks in Alabama will give you real money for accurate picks and predictions. On the apps, you can only redeem your Sweepstakes Coins for real prizes after meeting the requirements.
As mentioned, Alabama has one of the country's strictest real money gaming laws. So, bettors must be careful with the Alabama sports betting apps they choose for their games. Here is a quick breakdown of the best legal, social betting sites in the state for a safe and excellent sports gaming experience:
App Name | App Store Rating | Play Store Rating | One Top Feature |
---|---|---|---|
SportsMillons | 4.6/5 | N/A | Features DFS contests |
Legendz | N/A | N/A | Broad gaming markets for NFL games |
Sportzino | N/A | 3.7/5 | Boosted Odds |
Thrillz | 4.4/5 | 3.9/5 | Generous bonuses and promotions |
Fliff | 4.8/5 | 4.7/5 | Impressive range of betting lines |
We wish we could say when sports betting Alabama will finally launch, but it's tough to predict. Efforts in 2024 to legalize it didn't succeed, even with support from Sen. Greg Albritton and Gov. Kay Ivey. In 2024, lawmakers proposed a bill to bring sports betting, a lottery, and new casinos to Alabama. Still, sports betting and casinos were removed from the final package, and even the lottery bill didn't pass.
What other forms of gambling are legal in Alabama?
For now, lotteries and online casinos remain illegal in Alabama. The only other forms of legal gambling in Alabama are the three Tribal Casinos and Online Horse Racing. As a result, retail Alabama sports betting options are also sparse. Summarily, the following are the only legal forms of gambling in Alabama:
In Alabama, you need to be at least 18 years old to play at the three Tribal Casinos. If sportsbooks become legal, they'll likely have the exact age requirement, depending on the laws.
Technically, no. Also, if you’re wondering, "is sports betting legal in Alabama?" The answer would still be no, not currently. Nonetheless, all gaming winnings are taxed as part of your income in Alabama. The tax rate starts at 2% for the first $500 you win, goes up to 4% for the next $2,500, and maxes out at 5% for anything over $3,000.
If Alabama ever legalizes sports betting, college sports would be a huge focus, especially with the Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers leading the way. College football is like a religion here, and betting on those teams would be massive. Since Alabama doesn't have pro teams, fans also root for nearby teams like the Atlanta Braves or New Orleans Saints. For now, social betting allows entry into college and pro sports, offering a fun and legal way to enjoy the experience.
Right now, you can't legally bet on Alabama's sports teams, including the Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers. College sports betting has been a hot topic, and if it's ever allowed here, it would be huge. For now, betting apps in Alabama only let you enjoy Alabama's college teams with virtual coins instead.
Alabama social sports betting sites offer many bonuses that allow you to join the fun right away with no upfront financial commitment. The most common offers include free bets, deposit matches, cashback offers, and odds boosts.
Payment methods at social sportsbooks in Alabama are straightforward. Since you're not playing with real money, most sites let you purchase virtual coins or tokens using popular options like bank transfers, credit cards, PayPal, or even crypto. Deposits are usually instant, and there are no withdrawal delays because you're not cashing out real money. Below is a quick breakdown of the most common payment methods at social betting sites:
Payment Method | Deposit Time | Withdrawal Time | Fees |
---|---|---|---|
PayPal | Instant | 1-2 days | None |
Credit Cards | Instant | 3-7 days | None |
Apple Pay | Instant | 1-2 days | None |
Google Pay | Instant | 1-2 days | None |
Bank Transfer | Instant | 3-7 days | None |
Cryptocurrency | Instant | 1-2 days | None |
Picking the best sports betting site in Alabama can be tough, but we’ve got your back. We look at everything—from security and payment options to customer service and live betting—to ensure you have a safe and fun experience. Here are just some of the key criteria that we look out for in a social sportsbook before we recommend it to you:
You will obviously want the social sportsbook to cover the sports you are interested in betting on. These should include all major US sports like the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB, but also college sports, soccer, tennis, golf, MMA, boxing and so on. Plus it’s nice to find a decent range of niche sports too.
We always like to get an authentic social betting experience with lines for things like the moneyline, spread, totals, player props and so on. However, we’re also willing to embrace those social sportsbooks who are willing to get a little innovative. So that whether you are betting live on your favorite sport or are trying some peer to peer betting, you are getting suitably entertained.
Each social sportsbook should give you a massive range of deals as new and existing customers. After all, they have to let you enter their sweepstakes by giving away free Sweepstakes Coins. As such, you should be able to get welcome offers, daily login bonuses, social media giveaways, purchase offers, referral deals and so on.
We’ll make sure that each social sportsbook listed here is legally allowed to operate in the US and that abides by the sweepstakes rules of the states that it operates in. Plus we expect to see SSL level encryption technologies, valid privacy policies and a range of player protection tools.
You should be given a clear understanding of how you can redeem any Sweepstakes Coins for real-world prizes. This means that there should be a transparent sweeps rules section and you shouldn’t be faced with playthrough requirements that are impossible to achieve.
There’s no excuse for a social sportsbook failing to have professional and responsive customer service. Ideally we’d look for 24/7 customer care that can be accessed via live chat, email, telephone and social media.
While you should always be able to bet at the social sportsbook for free, it’s good to be able to make an optional purchase of a Gold Coins package. You should be able to do this using trusted payment providers such as Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, PayPal and so on.
It should also be simple to actually use the social sportsbook. The website should be easy to navigate around, and ideally there should be a user-friendly app for iOS and Android devices.
Responsible gambling is something we take seriously, and we only promote legal and safe gaming options. While Alabama doesn't offer much gambling right now, resources are available if you or someone you know needs support. You can contact the below establishments for other valuable resources available in Alabama -
Here is our list of some top sports gaming sites in other US states:
Real money sports gaming is still illegal in Alabama despite past attempts to legalize it. We don't know yet what the future holds, but we want to ensure that, as sports lovers, we can play our favorite sports through social gaming sites like SportsMillions, Legendz, Sportzino, Thrillzz, and Fliff. Living in a state with the strictest gaming laws should not be the end of the road for us. While we wait for the legal situation to change, we recommend you check out our top social sports gaming sites to keep the fun going.
No. Online sports betting is not legal in Alabama yet. However, laws are evolving nationwide, so this could change this year or anytime.
Yes. Alabama has two tracks: Birmingham Race Course and Mobile Greyhound Park. Birmingham focuses on horse racing, while Mobile offers greyhound racing and electronic bingo. These are the state's only horse racing venues.
Alabama's top legal social sportsbooks are SportsMillions, Legendz, Sportzino, Thrillzz, and Fliff. These sites offer excellent customer service, competitive odds, and a variety of sports to play, making them reliable options for your wagers.
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