There are a couple of dog tracks and a couple of Indian Casinos which are limited to "electronic bingo", basically slots with a randomizer purportedly based on bingo. So much money goes across the state lines. Dumb.
I do love how you get a little more debauchery the further west along I-20 you travel. Alabama - No lottery, no casinos Mississippi - Casinos, but no lottery Louisiana - Casinos, lottery, drive thru daiquiri shops and strip clubs
Before the giant, swanky Hard Rock casino in Tampa was built, there was a rinky-dink little casino with $10 max-pot poker (state rules; basically a money shuffle), live bingo and those insidious bingo slots. Never saw anyone win on those in the few times I went. Plus, being an Indian casino that also had a cheap smoke shop, the smoke in the casino was so thick you could cut it with a knife.
The highest volume lottery outlets in Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee are all just across the border from Alabama. The demand is there, but bible belt politics continues to fund other states while Alabama continues to be unable to balance the budget. Casinos would probably cause the earth to crack, a rain of toads, and the end of the world as we know it.
Could you imagine how much money you could make betting in Bama on the Tide not covering whatever ridiculous spread bettors push it to? Course, the tricky part would be collecting and not getting your ass kicked.
What makes you think that does not happen now? It's just bookies, not a casino. Not that a sports book here wouldn't absolutely mint money.