The debate over legal sports gambling in Georgia churned forward Tuesday with the Senate Regulated Industries Committee giving the green light to Senate Bill 172, in a push to legalize, regulate, and tax sports betting in the state. The measure, now headed to the full Senate for further discussion, faces a murky future as it necessitates a state constitutional amendment before Georgia voters can have their say, as reported by FOX 5 Atlanta.
Despite the early stage success, the bill's progression is not a sure bet, as a constitutional amendment demands a two-thirds majority from both the House and Senate - a steep climb given last year's failure to gather sufficient votes. "There’s no way that was contemplated when the voters allowed lotteries in my opinion," Senator Bill Cowsert, the sponsor of the bill, articulated as he made his case to renew the push for sports gambling's legality, per FOX 5 Atlanta.
Georgia has been on the sidelines of sports betting, despite approximately three dozen other states legalizing it following the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Cowsert’s bill aims to establish a seven-member sports betting commission and allow professional sports teams to set up betting kiosks, alongside measures to protect bettors and offer support to problem gamblers, according to Capitol Beat.
Yet even as the bill is positioned to potentially create a regulated sports betting ecosystem, there's visible tension over the envisioned distribution of proceeds before the accompanying constitutional amendment is even drafted. Without consensus on the final destination of the generated revenue, lawmakers like Senator John Albers have expressed their concern. "The other part that I do have a concern with is constantly trying to pick different folks to buy their support and their vote for any particular change," Albers said, as per FOX 5 Atlanta.
The debate is expected to not simply glide through the legislative process, with hurdles such as determining the bill’s legality without a constitutional amendment and deciding a concrete plan for the allocation of funds. The enigma of whether or not Georgia will join the growing list of states that welcome sports betting persists, reflecting a more general apprehension towards gambling in the conservative corners of the state's political machine.
