Massive Illegal Football Bets Are Expected With Alabama in the CFP

Peter Lewisby Peter Lewis
Updated: December 13, 2023
Massive Illegal Football Bets Are Expected With Alabama in the CFP

It has been a wild season thus far for college football and despite betting in Alabama still not allowed, Crimson Tide fans all over the state are finding ways to get their money down on their favorite team. While it was a bit of an inconsistent year for the Crimson Tide, they’re the No. 4 team in the country and in the semifinals. With that said, massive illegal bets are expected with Alabama in the CFP.

According to a report, officials are gearing up for what could be a hectic December in terms of sports fans getting their money down on Alabama. The Crimson Tide are set to face No. 1 Michigan in the College Football Playoff semifinals on Jan. 1. These two teams match up pretty evenly and a lot of experts think that a potential upset could be on the way here. Nick Saban is fired up for his team to show what they can do.

“Really I think the first game is the most important, because there’s always a different — look at how many days you have between games,” head coach Nick Saban said about the game with Michigan. “And this year it’s a seven-day turnaround. But initially when I was younger as a head coach, I think we would probably try to practice our way to the game, which meant we had intermittent practices while we were recruiting and all that.

Alabama has a tall task ahead of them in this semifinal, but a lot of people in Alabama think that an upset win is going to be on the way. It’s not going to be easy, as Michigan holds the best NCAAF betting odds to go on to win the National Championship. However, Alabama is riding high after they were able to stun Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. How will the showdown with Michigan end? We’re about to find out.

Fans will also be leaving Alabama to get their wagers in

One thing to keep in mind here too is that fans will also be leaving Alabama to get their wagers in for the College Football Playoff. Each year, people in Alabama – and other southern states for that matter – pack their bags for the holidays and head for different tourist attractions. They surely have legal gambling states in mind, though, which is why Florida is becoming a popular landing spot this year.

In case you missed it, Florida was able to re-launch legal sports betting earlier this month, which has thus far been massive for The Sunshine State. In just about a week of bets being allowed, Florida has seen a strong betting handle being recorded. On top of that, they’re also seeing plenty of visitors make their way over to take advantage of the new laws. It goes without saying, but people in Alabama will travel there now too.

This is going to hurt Alabama from a financial standpoint, as the local government would prefer it if people were to invest that money near their homes instead of using that dough elsewhere. Nevertheless, officials also know that a lot of illegal activity is going to be going on to close out the year. In addition to college football, people in the state are also going to be checking the NFL betting odds frequently, especially as we get closer to the Super Bowl.

Despite there not being a pro team in Alabama, fans love the NFL and they’re always going to watch the action on Sundays. In addition to that, they’re also going to find a way to make bets on teams too. The only way for this to change would be for legal options to be put on the table, but as of now, it’s not an option and no one knows when history will be made and the laws will be changed.

Could Alabama sports betting arrive in 2024?

With the way things have played out thus far, people continue to wonder could Alabama sports betting arrive in 2024? From our chair, it feels like it’s going to be a long shot for that to happen. As of now, it doesn’t look like there are going to be any convincing sports betting bills presented for legislators to take a look at.

Because of that, it feels like things may end up being delayed to 2025. That’s not what people want to see, but the best option for Alabama could be for them to take their time in developing the right bill and not try to rush things at the last minute. We’ve seen other states do that and things have ended in disastrous fashion.

Attempts to try and get legal betting pushed forward in recent years have been rough and it has caused folks to become quite frustrated. More of the same has been the case over the past year and something tells us the betting push won’t improve in 2024. However, it would be a major shock if things don’t settle here by the time 2025 arrives. We’ll see if it does.

Peter Lewis

Peter Lewis Jr. comes from Mississippi where he and his family spend their days discussing college football, baseball and basketball. He's written sports journalism for years after studying journalism at a local university. Over time, Peter has cultivated extensive knowledge covering sports betting legislation across the country. He closely tracks the latest...

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