Georgia Senate Committee Denies Sports Betting Resolution

• The Georgia Senate Committee of Regulated Industries and Utilities voted against a sports betting bill
• SR 131 was roundly defeated by the committee members
• Georgia sports betting hopes are once again in flux this session

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Georgia’s sports betting hopes have taken a big hit as the legislative session moves closer to crossover day.

The Georgia Senate Committee of Regulated Industries and Utilities yesterday roundly defeated SR 131, a proposed resolution to legalize sports betting and casino gaming in the state through a constitutional amendment.

Crossover day for legislation is next Thursday. Unfortunately for this sports betting resolution, it is now officially dead for the session after being defeated in committee.

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Uphill Battle for Georgia Sports Betting

Sen. Carden Summers (R-13), Sen. Billy Hickman (R-4), Sen. Brandon Beach (R-21), and Sen. Lee Anderson (R-24) introduced SR 131 earlier this month.

The bill called for sports betting legalization through a constitutional amendment, which would have put the final approval up to state voters in a 2026 election.

However, it does not seem as if Georgia residents will even get a chance to have a say on the legislation.

The committee voted 8-2 (the numbers aren’t entirely clear, as it by a hand vote) to defeat the bill.

Summers presented the bill to committee and said the voters of Georgia deserve to have the final say on sports betting.

“You will find many, many. letters from counties, and I have lots more and we have more coming in every day, asking for the right for this to be put on the ballot to let the people decide so that the funding of this issues will come back to the counties evenly in Georgia,” Summer said.

The bill called for up to eight casino licenses in Georgia. Sports betting license details, such as the number of operators allows and the license costs, were not yet included in the resolution.

The legislation would have created the Georgia Gaming Commission to regulate and license casino and sports betting gaming in the state.

The bill included a 20% tax rate for both casino gaming and sports betting, with revenues deposited into the “Georgia Gaming Proceeds Fund.”

However, committee interest in the resolution was slight. Senate Majority Leader Steve Gooch (R-51) said there seemed to be little enthusiasm in the House of Representatives to approved sports betting as well.

“If the House isn’t interested, then I don’t see why we would want to put our people through this again,” he said.

So What Now for Georgia Sports Betting?

The defeat of the resolution certainly puts a damper on any hope that Georgia may be more inclined to support a sports betting bill this year. SR 131 is officially dead, and with just a few days left until crossover day there remains little optimism that something may be done this year.

Any bill hoping to move forward for consideration must be approved by either the House or Senate by the end of Thursday, March 6.

There is one remaining sports betting bill, SB 208, which also sits in the Senate Committee of Regulated Industries and Utilities. The committee meets today, but the bill is not on the agenda for discussion. It will also meet on Tuesday, March 4, for the last time before the crossover day deadline.

It will have to be placed on the committee agenda for the Tuesday meeting and approved if it has any hopes of continuing.

Hickman introduced SB 208 this week, which seeks to legalize online sports betting in Georgia and allow the lottery to regulate the new form of gaming.

It seeks to legalize sports betting through a simple bill, not requiring a constitutional amendment.

If approved, the legislation will allow the Georgia Lottery to regulate online sports betting. It would be taxed at a rate of 25% of adjusted sports betting revenues and operators would pay a $1.5 million annual fee for a license. An application fee of $100,000 is also required for an operator.

The Georgia Lottery will only be allowed to issue up to 18 online sports betting licenses. The following entities would be eligible for licenses in the state:

• Five for Georgia professional sports teams (Atlanta Hawks, Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta United FC, and Atlanta Dream)
• One for Augusta National Golf Course
• One for the PGA Tour
• One for Atlanta Motor Speedway
• One for the Georgia Lottery Corporation
• Two for entities that have been approved in the state by the National Steeplechase Association

The remaining seven licenses will be awarded by the Georgia Lottery to online sports betting providers following a public procurement process.