ATLANTA – A second sports betting bill was introduced into the Georgia Senate this week with bipartisan backing from the chamber’s leadership.
Senate Bill 386 would authorize sports betting in Georgia under the oversight of the Georgia Lottery Corp. The bill would provide for both online betting on sports and retail betting at sites operated by licensees who would pay $1 million each.
The measure is being backed by Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who presides over the Senate, as well as Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler, D-Stone Mountain.
A coalition of Atlanta’s professional sports teams also is getting behind the bill.
“The Braves are excited about the opportunity to bring mobile sports betting to Georgia,” said Derek Schiller, president and CEO of the Atlanta Braves. “Over the last several years, we have watched closely as 38 other states have legalized mobile sports betting and collected billions of dollars in tax revenue.”
Under the bill, 15% of the revenue generated by sports betting in Georgia would go to benefit the state’s HOPE Scholarships and pre-kindergarten programs.
Georgia lawmakers have debated sports betting bills for several years, but none have managed to get through the General Assembly. Jones introduced a sports betting measure back in 2020 while serving as a member of the state Senate.
“Sports betting is an easy way to pick up $80 million to $100 million (in tax revenue),” the lieutenant governor said Wednesday.
Senate Bill 386, introduced by Sen. Clint Dixon, R-Buford, would not require a constitutional amendment to become law. A second measure, sponsored by Sen. Bill Cowsert, R-Athens, would require changing the state constitution.
The Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee, which Cowsert chairs, approved his bill during the first week of this year’s legislative session, but it has yet to reach the Senate floor.
Cowsert and others have argued that legalizing sports betting in Georgia requires a constitutional amendment, which then would land on the statewide ballot for voters to decide.
However, constitutional changes need the support of two-thirds of the state House and Senate, a more difficult obstacle than Dixon’s bill, which would need only simple majorities of each chamber to pass.