Alabama Race Wagering

Horse and greyhound racing are regulated at the county level in Alabama. Mobile County's racing commission is the oldest in the state, established in 1971. Greyhound racing began in Mobile in 1973. In 1983, Greene and Macon counties established racing commissions, and then the Birmingham Racing Commission was incorporated in Jefferson County the following year.

The Birmingham Race Course discontinued live horse racing in 1992 and operated live greyhound racing until May 2020, when it permanently ended the practice due to declining revenues and a COVID-19-related closure. As of 2026, no venue in Alabama offers live greyhound racing.

Greene County's racing commission discontinued live dog racing in 1998 and now only operates simulcast racing.

In May 2004, members of the House of Representatives ended the session without voting on a gambling bill that would have let the Birmingham and Mobile dog tracks operate high-stakes bingo machines if voters approved.

In 2013, state officials raided VictoryLand, seizing its electronic bingo machines. Electronic bingo subsidized live greyhound racing at VictoryLand, and without its revenue, live greyhound racing was no longer feasible.

Following the Alabama Supreme Court's September 2022 ruling permanently banning electronic bingo statewide and a June 2023 permanent injunction from a Macon County circuit court, VictoryLand removed all electronic bingo machines. The facility transitioned to historical horse racing (HHR) machines and simulcast wagering on horse and greyhound racing from out-of-state tracks. Electronic bingo is no longer offered there.