Georgia Sports Betting Legislation Advances, But Time is Running Out

• Two pieces of Georgia sports betting legislation were approved by the House Higher Education Committee
• The legislation now moves to the House Rules Committee
• The bills must be approved by the House of Representatives by Thursday, March 6 to continue on

---

There is nothing Georgia lawmakers love more than bringing sports betting down to the absolute wire.

Two pieces of Georgia sports betting legislation today were approved by the House of Representatives Committee on Higher Education, bringing them one step closer to the House floor.

However, crossover day in Georgia draws near, and if the House does not approve both pieces of legislation by tomorrow, sports betting efforts in the Peach State will die for the year.

Still More Mountains to Climb

Rep. Marcus Wiedower’s (R-119) legislation, HR 450 and HB 686, seek to legalize Georgia online sports betting through a constitutional amendment.

It now heads to the House Rules Committee, which is scheduled to meet tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. The legislation will have to pass through the committee and be approved by the house before tomorrow’s crossover day ends.

Adding to the intrigue? Because the triggering mechanism is through a constitutional amendment, the House of Representatives will have to approve the legislation by a two-thirds majority.

If passed by the House, the legislation will crossover into the Senate and go through the same process.

And if it doesn’t? Well, Georgia’s sports betting hopes will die out for another year.

Bill Amended for Higher Tax Rate

The Higher Education committee approved both pieces of legislation after a little more than 10 minutes of discussion. Two amendments were proposed by Rep. Sam Park (R-107), one of which would have included online casino gaming to the legislation.

The online casino gaming amendment was quickly defeated, but another amendment proposed by Park was approved. The amendment increased the online sports betting tax rate to 24%, up from the original 20% included in the document.

Sports Betting Bill Details

Wiedower’s legislation sets the state sports betting tax rate at 24% and earmarks funds for the Georgia Lottery HOPE Scholarship program and pre-kindergarten services.

However, the legislation notes that 15% of the first $150 million in sports betting tax revenues in a fiscal year must be used to prevent individuals from experiencing, and provide assistance to individuals who experience, addiction or other problems relating to betting or gambling.

This could result in a maximum funding of $22.5 million for problem gaming services in the state.

Applicants for an online sports betting license would have to pay a nonrefundable application fee of $100,000. If awarded a license, the full fee is set at $1 million.

The bill will allow for 16 total online sports betting licenses. The Georgia Lottery Corporation will automatically be awarded a license, and the remaining 15 will be earmarked as such:

• Five to Georgia professional sports teams
• One for an Augusta National Golf Course
• One for the PGA Tour
• One for Atlanta Motor Speedway
• Seven to be awarded by a public bidding process to online sports betting operators