Legalized gambling legislation has been a hot topic in Alabama throughout 2024. The most commonly agreed upon benefit seems to be the dismantling of the illegal gambling market in the state, but the numbers on illegal sports betting are staggering.

The Crimson Tide's historic run to the Final Four certainly helped boost demand: Since the tournament began, online security company GeoComply has logged about 190,000 geolocation checks in the state and 17,800 sporting events. Betting account.

These checks represent an attempt to access legal and regulated online sports. Betting Platforms Located in Other States – Because these individuals were in Alabama, they were not permitted to place bets. 42% were attempting to access sportsbooks from neighboring Tennessee, where mobile sports betting has been legal since 2020.

Alabama ranks second in the nation for Google searches related to illegal online sports betting.

GeoComply says it has blocked access to more than 2 million illegal sportsbooks in Alabama, but that only covers those who were actually caught.

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Google search data shows that once legalization occurs, traffic to such illegal websites drops sharply immediately. Take Bovada (the largest illegal sports betting platform) for example, which saw usage drop by over 50% in multiple states.

The main counterargument to the dangers of the illegal market is the lack of regulation: there is little age verification, for example, and no state or federal tax regulations.

Additionally, studies have shown that gamblers who develop a gambling addiction find it more difficult to seek help when using illegal bookmakers.

Legal sportsbooks, on the other hand, claim to offer far more safety features, such as giving consumers the option to block even access to the platform, funding responsible gambling research to try to educate users about the dangers of irresponsible gambling, and giving users the option to set time limits.

National Council on Problem Games He recently spoke about the importance of these measures and praised the legal platform for its efforts.

“Legalized and regulated online gambling in the United States has done a good job of preventing minors from accessing the sites,” it said. Keith White, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling. “The technological tools being deployed are sophisticated, robust and regularly reviewed by numerous regulators in the United States.”

“I am not aware of any serious offences committed by children.”

Michael Browner is a senior sports analyst and contributor to Yellow Hammer News. You can follow him on Twitter. translation: