Ala. Code
Code of Alabama

Ala. Code § 13A-12-21 (2026)

Simple Gambling.

✓ official Alabama Legislature (ALISON) text, current July 2026
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(a) A person commits the crime of simple gambling if he knowingly advances or profits from unlawful gambling activity as a player.

(b) It is a defense to a prosecution under this section that a person charged with being a player was engaged in a social game in a private place. The burden of injecting the issue is on the defendant, but this does not shift the burden of proof.

(c) Simple gambling is a Class C misdemeanor.

(Acts 1977, No. 607, p. 812, §6105.)

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 5 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1999–2026 · leading case: Burnett v. State, 807 So. 2d 573 (Ala. Crim. App. 1999).
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Burnett v. State, 807 So. 2d 573 (Ala. Crim. App. 1999). “Yet, to be guilty of the crime of gambling, § 13A-12-21 requires a person to knowingly profit from "unlawful gambling activities.”
Edwards v. State, 816 So. 2d 92 (Ala. Crim. App. 2000). “Yet to be guilty of the crime of gambling, § 13A-12-21 requires that a person knowingly profit from "unlawful gambling activities.”
St. John Life Ctr. v. State of Alabama (Ala. 2023). “According to the claimants, gambling offenses are either Class A or Class C misdemeanors under Alabama law, see §§ 13A-12-21 through 13A-12-25 and § 13A-12-27, Ala.”
Gordon Douglas Lawrence v. State of Alabama (Ala. Crim. App. 2023). “Facts and Procedural History The record indicates that Lawrence was convicted of unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a violation of § 13A-12-21, Ala. Code 1975, and was sentenced to 60 months' imprisonment on March 15, 2019.”
Dennard (M.D. Ala. 2026). “ed in this count, VIRGIL DENNARD had a final conviction for a serious drug felony, namely: a conviction under Section 13A-12-213, Code of Alabama, 1975, for which he served more than 12 months of imprisonment and for which he was released from serving any term of imprisonment…”
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