The state, where gambling is currently “illegal,” has several bookmakers operating gambling websites and a full range of sports betting options that allow bettors in the state to place bets of all kinds. Equipped with: Multi-game parlay, futures.
Admittedly, these websites are usually crude, bare-bones versions that lack the slick, professional design of sites run by big companies like DraftKings and FanDuel. However, local sites allow for the same basic functionality, but of course without the regulation of the State Gaming Commission or the oversight of authorities to protect consumers.
Still, even without consumer protections, Alabamians funneled about $2 billion through these shoddy websites in 2023 alone, according to information the agency provided to lawmakers over the summer.
Last year alone, major sports betting sites blocked more than 2 million bet attempts by people in Alabama. Two million.
There is no doubt that the majority of those people simply gave up and did not place their bets. Instead, they visited one of those shoddy websites or signed up to an offshore casino website to place their bets.
When you read about that $2 billion and millions of bets, remember that gambling is “illegal” here.
And certain people and blogs (some of which are funded by out-of-state gambling interests and very illegal operators I'm talking about) are trying to explain the dangers of legal gambling. I've gone to great lengths to warn you.
please. When it comes to gambling, there is no greater threat to law-abiding Alabama residents than the dark world of illegal sports betting. The “Dispute Resolution Center” is an aluminum bat. There are also no algorithms to weed out problem gamblers and no tax revenue for gambling addiction centers.
Because if sports gambling is actually a legal and regulated business, it is done in a professional manner by professionals. And it is monitored by the authorities. We operate in an open and civil manner to attract investors and continue to grow our business across the country.
For example, recruiting college students as bookmakers, encouraging friends to make bets they cannot afford, often failing to pay out, and changing odds on the spot to defraud children of money. there is no.
It's happening on every college campus in this state. Some of these companies are run by shady locals who have been gambling with students into debt since at least his 1980s. Some players have been embroiled in college recruiting scandals, and university officials go to inordinate lengths to keep athletes from getting caught up in haphazard points-grabbing schemes with these players.
This is the current state of sports betting in Alabama. A used car salesman runs a $2 billion a year business, recruiting college students and scamming other college students, paying zero taxes and using the proceeds to fund all sorts of other illegal enterprises. There is. .
Anyone with a functioning brain knows it's part of a comprehensive gambling plan that gives voters the opportunity to legalize and regulate sports betting, implement a statewide lottery, and offer up to 10 lottery tickets. It is hard to believe that this is a better system than the proposal currently before lawmakers. casino license. The sports betting aspect of the bill is very similar to initiatives passed in neighboring states of Tennessee, Florida, and Mississippi.
It takes sports betting out of the hands of criminals and fraudsters and pushes it into the public sphere, where its activities can be monitored and regulated, and prevent proceeds from being used for organized crime and other illegal activities. become.
If voters pass the bill overnight, sports betting will be thrust out of the shadows and into the brightest spotlight. As always, when it comes to sports betting in Alabama, the light will be incredibly cleansing.
