Gambling Laws for Alabama Poker and Casino Games

The State of Alabama has a lot of very strict rules against gambling, however they do not have any that makes online gambling illegal. People from Alabama are not barred or restricted from playing poker online; the only form of online gambling that is strictly forbidden it sports betting and yet, that is still a grey area when it comes to “online” being that “online” involves the whole world and can’t really be censured 100%. This may seem weird, as their stance on gambling is so strict, but they have yet to make any law that states a person is not permitted to gamble online.

State Run Poker Sites

Estimated Date of Legalized Online Poker in Alabama: 2019-2020

Alabama has strict rules on gambling, and even though they do not have any laws regarding online gambling, they do not have any intention of getting involved in the creation of, or the promotion of, state run online poker websites as seen currently. As many land-based casino and online casino players should know, gambling is a very fickle subject, and has remained open to debate. Of course, they have plenty of non-skill games like slots for example.

Alabama is one of the states where the Government officials are not pushing for online poker websites. Also, Alabama has no existent brick and mortar poker rooms on their land. There is a large group of people that want gambling legalized in Alabama, it just has not happened yet. The chances of Alabama instituting or running online poker sites are very slim, but with the right kind of incentives they may be more open to the idea; with ideas like increased state GDP. Bear in mind, even though they have not officially legalized state gambling online, this does not mean you cannot gamble online either – at least you may do so through our recommended online poker sites.

Land Based Casinos and Businesses

Alabama is not a very big hub or state where gambling is very big; anyone that really wants to gamble by playing poker or any other type of table game has to travel to locations like Las Vegas or Atlantic City, at least in terms of land-based gambling. Due to the strict gambling laws that Alabama has, there is little growth in this area. There are a few Indian casinos that are allowed to operate and run in this state, but they are limited to only being able to offer Class II Gaming. The most popular Class II game is Electronic Bingo, and it is used as a form of gambling; any other type of gambling like table games are still illegal, even for the Indian casinos (Native American Casinos).

The only land based casinos that are allowed to be constructed and run are by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians Tribe. The casinos can also be found in Louisiana. Popular casinos in Alabama include The Creek Casino and the Birmingham Race Track. Governor Bently will be pursuing a deal in mid 2015 with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians to let them expand their gambling games in return for state tax revenue. IF a deal can be done this would transition the Indian casinos to Class III gambling where they could then offer craps, blackjack, poker, roulette, and more.

Tribal Stances

The Poarch Band of Creek Indians Tribe is the only Native American tribe that has been allowed to create and legally operate an actual brick and mortar casino in the state of Alabama. They depend on casino gambling as their primary source of income. For this reason, the Poarch Band of Creek Indians has had several altercations when others have tried to develop casinos.

Without any casinos, the tribe would have no funding at all for economic programs and would be left penniless. This is why the Indian Regulatory Act and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act have played such an important role in keeping the Indian casinos solely for the use and operation of the Indian community.

Possible Conflicts

With how the Indian tribes are given permission to run and operate their casinos, since it is their one and foremost means of economic revenue, there is more than likely going to be conflicts between the Indian casinos and any other casino developer that tries to encroach on their state given rights.

In one case they sued Jack Abramoff (pictured to the right), a lobbyist that was trying to introduce more casinos into Alabama through the use of other Indian tribes. Abramoff was found guilty of fraud, tax evasion, and conspiracy to bribe public officials. A movie was later created called “Casino Jack: The United States of Money”. I highly recommend it if you like movies that show how corrupt the US government is.

Online Lotteries

Alabama, along with its strict gambling laws and views, does not have any state run lotteries. However, due to the 1961 Wire Act, residents living in Alabama are allowed to buy lottery tickets online.

Online Poker Sites

With the change in recent federal policy, it has left residents of Alabama being able to play online poker as it falls out of the regular gambling restrictions that they have in place. As such, there are a few online poker sites that Alabamians can use. Poker players based in Alabama can use BetOnline and Ignition Poker when they want to play poker.