The General Assembly is expected to take up legalizing gambling in January and supporters hope this will be the year legislation passes.
It will mark the seventh consecutive year state lawmakers have debated the legalization of betting on sports since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal law prohibiting states from authorizing the practice in 2018. Thirty-nine other states legalized sports wagering since the federal ruling, but efforts in Georgia have stalled in the House.
For years, lobbyists urged lawmakers to expand betting and gambling for casinos and horse racing. State Sen. Carden Summers, R-Cordele, said he’d introduce a constitutional amendment this year requiring the first $2 billion generated from gambling to be distributed evenly among Georgia’s 159 counties. That would be about $12.6 million per county.
“My position is that everybody should reap the benefits of this if we’re going to do this,” Summers said.
The bill would also require 5% of revenue to go toward efforts aimed at addressing gambling addiction, he said.
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
However, passing a constitutional amendment for gambling is a difficult task in Georgia. It would require two-thirds support from each legislative chamber to place it on the ballot and majority support from voters at the ballot box for the amendment to pass.
Supporters and top lobbyists hired by casinos, sports betting companies, the Atlanta Chamber and most of Atlanta’s professional sports teams — the Braves, Falcons, Hawks and Atlanta United — have told lawmakers gambling could generate millions of dollars in tax revenue. Gambling opponents say that any form of gambling is immoral and that legalizing it would only lead to higher rates of gambling addiction and crime.
For Mike Griffin, a lobbyist with the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, any tax revenue generated from sports gambling will eventually be offset by the cost of people’s well-being and mental health.
“If we legalize sports gambling, we will just be pouring gasoline on a fire that’s already lit in our state,” said Griffin.
Gov. Brian Kemp, who once opposed sports betting, has worked with lawmakers in recent years to pass a constitutional amendment. He’s also taken a more neutral stance on gambling, saying it should be up to Georgians to decide rather than lawmakers. State Rep. Alan Powell, who chairs the House Regulated Industries Committee, takes the same approach, arguing that lawmakers should let the voters decide.
“As a legislator, you’re not legalizing gambling,” said Powell, a Hartwell Republican. “The only people that can legalize gambling are the people of Georgia.”
Griffin said legislators have a responsibility to decide this issue and shouldn’t just hand it off to voters.
“Here’s the point we need to understand: the people have already decided when they elected their official as a representative,” Griffin said.
Apart from the moral or ethical questions, some lawmakers have said the state is missing out on tax revenue and that people are going to gamble whether or not it’s legal.
“Our stubbornness to legalize this wildly popular activity is not only forgoing millions of dollars in tax revenue, but also propping up shady offshore betting sites that have zero protections to prevent minors from gambling, have no problem-betting resources and might not even pay winners,” wrote Sen. Brandon Beach, R-Alpharetta, in an opinion column for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Gambling backers hope to use results from a nonbinding question in the 2024 Republican primary as evidence that Georgia voters want to legalize the practice. The question that drew 81% approval asked voters if they would vote to “allow gaming in Georgia so the voters can decide this issue instead of politicians in Atlanta.”
Similarly, the results from a recent University of Georgia poll commissioned by the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce found 63% of registered voters support letting adults legally bet on sports.
In addition to passing a constitutional amendment, lawmakers would need to pass “enabling legislation” that would take effect only if Georgia voters approve the amendment. This legislation would work out details, such as where the money would be spent, how companies would be taxed and who would regulate gambling — likely sparking further debate.
Options that have been considered in the past include allocating revenue to aid the HOPE scholarship, need-based scholarship programs and rural health care across the state.
Last year, Sen. Clint Dixon, a Buford Republican, tried to get around amending the Georgia Constitution by taking an alternate approach with a bill to legalize the practice through the Georgia Lottery. But the bill tanked in the House.
While 2025 might be the year that a gambling bill passes, it could be 2026 before voters can weigh in on wagering.
The Georgia General Assembly begins its legislative session next week. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is running articles every day this week previewing some of the action. Stick with the AJC throughout the session for the most comprehensive coverage in the state.
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