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You may remember this story from 2023 — a University of Alabama baseball coach embroiled in a betting scandal that cost him his job?
The coach was Brad Bohannon. He was fired in May 2023 after failing to comply with an investigation into suspicious betting activity. The activity revolved around an NCAA game involving his Crimson Tide and the LSU Tigers in April of that year.
The investigation continued into 2024 when the NCAA came down hard on Bohannon: a 15-year show-cause order. If ever hired again by another college program (highly unlikely), Bohannon has to be suspended for a full five years at minimum. In other words, the NCAA gave him essentially a death sentence cause he’s virtually un-hirable with that order.
The NCAA believes Bohannon knowingly provided inside information to a gambler, who bet against Alabama in that matchup. A text from Bohannon to the gambler reads: “[Alabama starting pitcher] is out for sure … Lemme know when I can tell [the opposing team] … Hurry.” The bettor then tried to make a $100,000 at a BetMGM in Cincinnati — but was limited to only $15,000. LSU did end up winning the game 8-6.
For his part, the bettor in question — Bert Eugene Neff — is under more fire. He’s already pleaded guilty to federal obstruction charges. Neff is facing as much as 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 maximum for destroying evidence, tampering with witnesses, and providing false statements to the FBI. Yikes! Big yikes!
But could have the whole situation been avoided if sports betting was legal and regulated in the state of Alabama? One key stakeholder has an interesting opinion.
State Rep Thinks “What If” On Sports Betting
Alabama State Representative Chris Blackshear was interviewed on a local radio show in early May (we just now saw it). He made some interesting comments on the state of Alabama sports betting:
“It blows my mind we’re not trying to profit off of that from a tax base,” he said. “Make no mistake about it, there is influence out of state, but 90 plus percent of the influence to fight against this legislation is from within the state of Alabama.”
That 90-plus percent influence is coming from a conservative voter base and a group of lawmakers. Alabama — and the Deep South in general — have a certain schtick of values: family, hospitality, religion, and more. It’s why about half of the 12 U.S. states without betting come from the region.
But at the same time, the offshore sportsbook market has thrived in Alabama without regulated betting. We don’t know for sure the actual numbers past general interest. Alabama ranks No. 2 in the nation for Google searches on illegal online sports betting.
Alabama did make headway toward legal betting in 2024. At first, it was a trifecta bill that included legal sports betting, a casino, and lottery system. Then sports betting was dropped and only casino and lottery made it through the Senate — where the bill failed by one vote. Still, there was progress for a state that’s been heavily against legalized betting (more so than other states).
This leads us back to coach Bohannon. In the same interview, Blackshear referenced the betting scandal at the state’s flagship university.
“The only reason the coach got tied up into that is because the individual that was placing the bet was in a legal state where sports betting is regulated. If the bet was placed in Alabama on Bovada, or on some of these other sites, neither one of them would have ever been caught.”
It’s an interesting quote because Blackshear is not saying Bohannon wouldn’t have done it if Alabama had legal sports betting. He’s saying the lack of regulation means the state can’t find any misdoings IF it happens in-state. As he mentioned, it was Ohio regulators that caught on to the scheme because there’s infrastructure to do so. Alabama has no infrastructure so more people could be getting away with this if using an offshore site.
It’s a good point and one that might land well with Alabama voters and legislators who don’t want to just make this a tax issue. It’s also an issue about sniffing our problems before they can ever happen.
But unfortunately for Blackshear, nothing can be done in 2024. The legislative year is finished and there will be no betting on any kind in Alabama the rest of the year. At the earliest, betting can become regulated in 2025.
What does that mean? More activity on offshore betting sites in the meantime, which certainly isn’t a bad idea for Alabama bettors. Offshore sportsbooks work freely inside state borders. Not only that, they’re often better playing experiences than regulated sportsbooks that can’t offer as many betting odds and payment types.
If you’re looking for a reliable offshore bookmaker, we recommend one of the five sportsbooks listed below. Out of all the reviews we’ve done, these five are consistently rated as some of the best. Alabama bettors fans bet with confidence at these ones:
