On Monday, lawmakers unveiled a piece of legislation that would legalize sports betting in the state of Alabama.
The bill, titled HB 135, was introduced by representatives Mike Rogers and Mary Moore and if successful will allow betting on professional and collegiate sporting events.
The proposed legislation would also create the Alabama Sports Wagering Commission to regulate sports betting in the state.
If the bill is successful, the Commission would be able to award up to seven sports betting licenses to venues where pari-mutuel wagering is authorized.
License holders will be able to offer land-based sports betting as well as mobile and online sports betting.
A line from the bill reads: “An operator may accept wagers from an individual physically located within this state using a mobile or other digital platform or a sports wagering device approved by the commission through the patron’s sports wagering account.”
The application fee to apply for a sports betting license is set at $100,000 and would run for five years.
In terms of taxation, the bill sets a tax rate of 10% on gross revenue that will be collected on a weekly basis.
The bill does not make reference to the tribal gambling establishments that operate within the state.
The bill is currently being considered by the House Economic Development and Tourism Committee.
Alabama’s legislative session is set to end in June meaning there is still time for Alabama to legalize sports betting this year.
With that being said, it is possible that the bill may not receive enough support. The appetite for gambling expansion in Alabama has been incredibly small and efforts to create a state lottery have failed on several occasions.
Elsewhere in the south, lawmakers in Louisiana introduced sports betting legislation last week.
In other regulatory news, last week Rhode Island legalized mobile sports betting.
