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Things just aren’t positive at all when it comes to Alabama sports betting news. Matter of fact, you could say that for the southern states as a whole, especially after Georgia won’t be getting things done until 2025 at the earliest. Could the same be said for ‘Bama? That’s what a lot of people are worried about, as a new Alabama sports betting bill is on life support. Is there any way that things will be able to be saved this year?
That’s up in the air. This past week, members of the Alabama House and Senate tried to get on the same page for changes to the betting bill, but that wasn’t able to happen. Instead, parts of the bill were ‘gutted,’ which included sports betting getting taken off of things completely. In a bit of a last-ditch effort, the same sports betting bill is reportedly headed to a conference committee to see if anything can happen to keep sports betting bill hopes alive.
However, at this point, it doesn’t seem like things are going to be moving in that direction. The main issue for Alabama lawmakers and officials is that religious conservatives are against legal sports betting arriving in the state. For a while, the opposition has been arguing that legal sports betting could lead to issues with gambling addiction. There’s been a rise in addiction in the USA in recent years, with legal betting being linked as a reason why.
However, the fact of the matter is that people are finding ways to get their bets in regardless. If people have a sports betting problem, things are being made easier for them by doing so in an unregulated fashion or through an off-shore bookie. Legal betting would at least allow for things to be regulated. From our chair, Alabama is missing out on legal sports bets, as the betting revenue potential would be electric. Hopefully the conference committee agrees.
Alabama fans are furious they can’t bet on the 2024 NFL Draft
It goes without saying, but Alabama fans are furious they can’t bet on the 2024 NFL Draft. Every single season, the Crimson Tide have plenty of players who are getting ready to hear their names get called over draft weekend. This year will be no different, as several guys are ready to make the alumni proud. One player in particular who is drawing a ton of interest is star offensive tackle JC Latham.
Latham is considered one of the top tackles for his draft class. If it wasn’t for Notre Dame’s Joe Alt, Latham would be No. 1 on our board. However, what has Tide fans upset is that they’d love to be able to bet on where Latham might end up, but they can’t do so. However, people are going to find ways to place their draft bets. Yes, illegal activity isn’t going anywhere in Alabama. The only way that things will change is if things are legalized.
JC Latham's power in both phases is the first thing you notice on tape. But his strike timing & patient hand usage is why he's a top 10 player for me. pic.twitter.com/WWSnPsUFvm
— James Foster (@NoFlagsFilm) April 5, 2024
Later this month, the NFL Draft is going to take center stage, with a lot of eyes on Latham. Not only that, but all over the world there’s going to be NFL betting interest on who will end up being the No. 1 overall pick. Right now, USC’s Caleb Williams has the No. 1 NFL betting odds to be the top pick. As a matter of fact, it would be a complete and total surprise if the Chicago Bears don’t send his name in.
Williams is one of the best players for his class and people in Alabama are quite familiar with his game, watching him both during his USC and Oklahoma playing days. The NFL Draft is one of the most fun events of the year for football fans, but once again people in Alabama will be stuck on the sidelines in terms of the betting fun. This is something that could potentially change by next year’s draft, but it’s unknown if that will happen or not.
Can Alabama sports betting be saved for 2024?
The question people have on their minds right now is can Alabama sports betting be saved for 2024? That’s totally unknown, but once the new bill is revised by the conference committee, we’ll know a little bit more about the state’s chances to get things across the line this year. If the committee can’t bring things back to life, though, then Alabama will have to wait until at least 2025 to try and get the green light. People hope this is avoided, but again, the future is unknown for the betting push.
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Join today: (https://t.co/ve0m6tj9Zj)#RollTide pic.twitter.com/QG5hWjDmDN— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) April 5, 2024
It doesn’t help that Georgia recently had their new sports betting bill fired down too. Both Georgia and Alabama have been trying to join the 38 states to promote legal sports betting, but the two southern states haven’t had much luck. At one point, it looked like Alabama and Georgia were moving in the right direction to get betting done this year, but now there’s a great chance both states will have to end up waiting until next year. This is a huge bummer all around for everyone involved.
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