Peach State lawmakers are prepared to take another crack at bringing sports betting legislation across the finish line after several unsuccessful attempts.
7th Time’s a Charm
Georgia’s sports betting bills have struck out on six different occasions but pro-sports betting advocates are hopeful that this year will be different. Advocates point out that taxes on sports betting revenues could be earmarked for the state’s HOPE Scholarship and bolster the program that funds tuition for recipients who attend state colleges in Georgia.
Cultural Resistance in the South
However, the South is notoriously conservative, and although only 11 of 50 states have no form of sports betting, three of those states include Georgia as well as neighboring Alabama and South Carolina. The moral objection to gambling is still part of the Bible Belt mentality, but more and more legislators are being swayed by the immense financial benefits it would provide.
The other vexing question that has divided Georgia lawmakers is how sports betting would be legalized. Some believe it would need to be approved by the voters as a constitutional amendment, which would require two-thirds of each chamber to vote yes, while others have argued that route could be avoided if it was tacked onto the law that allows the state lottery to exist.
The proposed bill, which has yet to be unveiled, is scheduled to be advanced within weeks, and it has been reported it would go the constitutional amendment route. This legislative session concludes in April, but should it pass muster in the House and Senate, it would not be on the ballot until November 2026. Therefore, under this scenario, the earliest sports betting would be launched, assuming everything goes as planned, is sometime in 2027.
However, there could be other sponsored bills that avoid having residents vote on a constitutional amendment and could expedite the process by eliminating it and pinning it to the state lottery.
Republican Lawmaker Goes to Bat for Betting
Republican Senator Brandon Beach wrote an op-ed piece for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in December that revealed his support for sports betting.
“Georgia Republicans were right to chastise Stacey Abrams for costing our economy hundreds of millions in economic activity when the MLB pulled the All-Star game over her claims about an election and voting bill the Legislature passed in 2021,” Beach wrote.
“Republicans will only have ourselves to blame when FIFA, the NFL, the NCAA, and others decide Georgia isn’t a fan-friendly state to locate big games because of our refusal to legalize sports betting.”
Public Support for Sports Betting
According to a recent poll by the University of Georgia and Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, 63% of voters want legal sports betting in Georgia. And the fervor for sports betting is bipartisan, as roughly 65% of both Republicans and Democrats support its legalization.
“Time is running out,” Beach wrote. “Soon, the national and international sporting community will descend on our state for some of the biggest events in sports. We can either welcome fans with safe and legal sports betting in Georgia, or we can disappoint fans and foreclose ourselves from future big sporting events. For me, the choice is easy.”
