Ollie RingThe latest blow to legal sports betting in Georgia has arrived, with two bills failing in the State House and the State Senate.
With the news of Senate Resolution 140 failing to obtain the two thirds majority needed for an amendment of state constitution (failing despite ‘winning’ 30-26) and the chamber voting against SB 57 the week prior.
Away from the Senate, the Georgia House Bill 380 did not get voted on, with the period now expiring and the bill being left to die in he house.
The HB 380 bill was the bill that analysts felt was most likely to pass, as 16 Georgian sports teams, plus golf courses (and so on) would have received a license that they could then tether to online sports betting operators.
The bills swerving constitutional amendment by legalizing sports betting under the Georgia Lottery failed and now it looks as if the state has been dealt its final blow for 2023.
Rep. Ron Stephens amended two bills in 2022, but his SR135 and SB142 didn’t make it through to a vote on the house floor either. Now, similarly to California sports betting, Georgia mobile sports betting will realistically not be live until 2025- and that’s on the condition it passes through 2024 legislature, which is far from guaranteed.
Georgia has no commercial casino properties, nor any tribal presence which is fairly unique across the United States. The only legalized form of gambling currently remains to be the Georgia lottery.
The neighbouring states to Georgia include:
- Florida
- Alabama
- Tennessee
- North Carolina
- South Carolina
Florida sports betting is not yet legal, with legislature getting underway as we speak. There is expected to be certain lobbies campaigning for legalized sports wagering given the large population in the State.
Alabama sports betting and South Carolina sports betting both are not legalized in any way, while North Carolina has retail NC sports betting limited to tribal casino properties.
Currently, Tennessee mobile sports betting apps provide the easiest way for Georgia residents to wager given that it has legalized mobile TN sports betting across the entire state.
Since its launch in November 2020, Tennessee has taken over $7.3 billion in wagers, generating revenue of $687 million at an overall hold of 9.4 percent. It has generated $120 million in tax revenue for the state.
Given substantial tax receipts in an neighbouring state, it is perhaps surprising that Georgia has been so reluctant to push forward legalized sports betting legislature in recent years. The clump of states surrounding Georgia, however, is perhaps the slowest block of states to progress. Analysts suggest once one legalizes, the rest may follow.
This article was written for Business 2 Community by Ollie Ring.
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