Legal Gambling Age in Alabama

Betting on sports both online and offline is illegal in Alabama. Online sports have never been under the question of legalization. As for offline betting, there have been numerous bills and attempts to legalize it but eventually, they all have been turned down. The most recent attempts took place in 2021.

Any gambling machines and devices are prohibited by the state and as a result, land-based casinos are also prohibited. The only legal exception is the three tribal casinos run by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. The Alabama gambling age for visiting tribal casinos is 21 years old and older.

Online casinos are not allowed by the state, as well as other forms of electronic gambling except online horse betting and bingo machines.

Tribal casinos do not offer live poker and there is no law allowing poker, so as a result there are no offline poker rooms in the state.

In terms of online poker, there is no law allowing or prohibiting it, and there have been no charges against people playing online poker in Alabama. Therefore, online poker seems to exist in the gray zone of the industry.

Online bets on sports are not legally allowed by the state, however, many fantasy sports platforms allow deposits and bets on fantasy contests. The problem is that this is a new niche that is not yet regulated and there have been no attempts to regulate it. This way, fantasy sports exist in the gray zone for now and there is no permission for it, and therefore, no legal gambling age in AL.

Alabama is one of the really few states in the country that does not allow lottery at all, in any form.

Bingo is technically allowed, but the current cases in the court have brought forward the issue of the differences between offline and online bingo. Paper bingo has been allowed for years and it still is, but online bingo is claimed to be a form of online gambling and some believe that it should not be allowed. Several counties in Alabama have banned online bingo.

On the other hand, non-profit organizations are free to organize bingo events for charitable purposes. In most places, the minimum legal age for playing bingo or assisting bingo is 19.

The Alabama government allows making bets on simulcast betting machines, and online bets on horse racing. Historical horse racing is also allowed by the state. The minimum gambling age in Alabama to make bets on racing ranges from 18 to 19, depending on the county.