“There’s a right way and a wrong way to do this.” “There are no jobs created,” Powell said. App-based betting on sports wouldn’t raise nearly the revenue the state could bring in from bricks-and-mortar casinos, he said. “They want folks sitting in stadiums betting on their phones,” he said.īut Powell is not a fan of legalizing sports betting in isolation. Alan Powell, R-Hartwell, another supporter of legalized gambling.

They want to use sports betting to gin up fan engagement, said Rep.

Georgia’s sports betting legislation is modeled after a law in Tennessee, which permits online betting only.Ī coalition of Atlanta’s pro sports teams – including the Braves, Falcons, Hawks and Atlanta United – is backing the idea. Another five states have passed sports betting legislation that has yet to take effect. Since that decision opened up the country, 26 states have launched sports betting, according to the American Gaming Association. Supreme Court ruling in a New Jersey case. States other than Nevada weren’t allowed to legalize sports betting until a 2018 U.S.

Sports betting is a relatively recent player in the debate over legalizing gambling. Ron Stephens, R-Savannah, a longtime supporter of legalizing gambling in Georgia. “It looks more encouraging than ever,” said state Rep. While Senate Resolution 135 failed to reach the floor of the Georgia House of Representatives, it marked the first time a gambling bill had made it through either legislative chamber. The state Senate passed a constitutional amendment last March calling for a statewide referendum to legalize sports betting. But after years of failing to gain traction, the effort gained momentum during the 2021 session. Proposals to legalize gambling in Georgia in some form have come up virtually every year for the last decade, with most of the bills dedicating part of the proceeds to the hugely popular HOPE Scholarships and pre-kindergarten programs. While the General Assembly gears up for next month’s once-a-decade redrawing of Georgia’s legislative and congressional district maps, lawmakers also will soon renew a much more frequent debate over legalized gambling.īills that could lead to casinos, pari-mutuel betting on horse racing and/or sports betting in the Peach State will be on the table when the 2022 legislative session convenes in January for the second year of a two-year term.

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