- The Georgia Rules Committee failed to take up Senate Bill 386 and Senate Resolution 579 on Thursday morning.
- If the bill passes, it will permit Georgia residents to vote on legalizing sports betting in November.
- Georgia has unsuccessfully tried to legalize sports betting since 2022.
On Thursday morning, legal sports betting in Georgia received a significant blow after the local Rules Committee failed to take up Senate Bill 386 and Senate Resolution 579. If they are advanced by the organ, the bills will go to the House for a vote. Thereafter, Georgia residents would vote on the legal sports betting bills in November.
SB 386 is the bill that would enable regulated sports betting in the state. For that to happen, the Georgia Constitution must be amended, which is what SR 579 strives to resolve. However, neither was discussed in the Rules Committee session Thursday morning after the Georgia House Higher Education Committee passed both bills.
There is faint hope that the Georgia Rules Committee will send SB 386 and SR 579 to the House for a vote later in the day. It looks unlikely that Georgia sports betting will be regulated in November, but the House can complete a Hail Mary to provide voters with a chance to voice their opinion at the ballot box in November. Stay tuned.
Georgia Sports Betting Stalling Despite Early Momentum
Sports bettors were optimistic that this was finally the year that they could vote on a bill regulating the sector in Georgia. With some momentum in the legislature last month following the passage of the bill, there was reason to look forward to a public vote in November.
On February 1, 2024, Lt. Governor Burt Jones was happy to announce bi-partisan support for legalized sports betting in the state after the passage of SB 386.
“I was proud of the bi-partisan effort in the Senate today,” said Lt. Governor Burt Jones. We are one step closer to providing tens of millions of dollars to education funding for the next generation of Georgia. I look forward to continued discussions to get this done.”
With the bill requiring two-thirds in favor of amending the Georgia Constitution, it went easily through the Senate to the House. The Georgia sports betting bill easily passed with a strong vote of 35-15.
The sports betting bill includes room for up to 16 licenses to be distributed to sports betting operators, who would be responsible for paying an annual fee of $1 million and a 20% tax on revenue.
The source of contention from critics was due to the dangers of gambling addiction, the forms of gambling allowed, and the distribution of revenue. Under SB 386, the Georgia Lottery would have overseen a 20% tax on revenue that supported pre-K programs and higher education HOPE scholarships in the state.
There were also concerns in the Senate regarding how sports betting would be defined in relation to lottery games. Sen. Bill Cowsert and 30 lawmakers, including Democrats and Republicans, supported amendment language.
There is no way the people in Georgia, when they passed that constitutional amendment for the lottery, believed it would authorize the General Assembly to say that sports betting is a lottery game.
On Wednesday, the Legislature approved an amendment that would send 85% of revenue and 15% to problem gambling. House Democrats are still fixated on more specific needs-based education, which may hold up the bill before passing on the House floor.
Final Day of Georgia Legislative Session
Thursday is the last day of the 2024 Georgia legislative session. If the House does not vote in favor of legal sports betting by the end of the session, the bills will die on Thursday.
If both SB 386 and SR 579 do not pass, Georgia residents will not be able to vote on legalizing sports betting this fall. It would mean the Georgia Legislature would need to wait another year before introducing another sports betting bill.
At the earliest, Georgia voters would be unable to vote on legal sports betting until the following year in 2025. After sports betting bills failed in 2022 and 2023, sports betting advocates are growing impatient with uncertainty in the Peach State. The Sports Geek will continue to update any important changes that occur in the Georgia Legislature.
