Progress Reported on Potential Georgia Sports Betting Bill

The long-standing legal sports betting conversation in the state of Georgia took another step in a positive direction this week with news of potential legislation not only being heard in the state House but being approved by a select committee looking into the viability of such a platform.

The Associated Press has reported that the Georgia House Economic Development and Tourism Committee voted by a 20-6 margin to approve House Hill 86, thus paving the way for it to move to the full House for further debate. The latest step is the furthest a potential legal sports betting platform has advanced with lawmakers in the Peach State.

Concerns about the need for a constitutional amendment have all but been quashed and further advancement of the Bill seems inevitable at this time.

House Bill 86

HB 86 was introduced by Georgia Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Savannah a few weeks ago and at the time he said: "It’s the easiest one to pass. It clearly does not require a constitutional amendment. … It’s just a matter of us giving the [Georgia] Lottery Commission direction and authority they already have."

HB 86 would give total control of the legal sports betting platform in Georgia to the Georgia Lottery, which, as Stevens stated, allows for a bypass of a constitutional amendment. It would allow for statewide mobile sports betting with remote registration.

Six sports betting licenses would be granted to companies wanting to get in on the Georgia scene and the tax rate would be set at a state-friendly 16%, allowing Georgia to collect a healthy amount of tax revenue annually. Under the plan, it appears as though professional sports teams and their venues would be allowed to offer a sports betting platform of their own.

The licensing fee will be $50,000 on top of a heavy and some-say unattractive large annual licensing fee of $900,000 under the House Bill.

The Tennessee and Virginia Model

Unlike other states that currently offer legal sports betting platforms, Georgia will have to build their industry from scratch. Like Tennessee and Virginia, there is currently no gambling culture in Georgia - just the state lottery.

While that poses some problems, it does give Georgia the opportunity to pursue a mobile-only sports betting platform, similar to the one that set records during its first two months of operation in Tennessee. Mobile betting across the US has been responsible for about 80% of the total amount of bets taken in recently - it was 93.6% of the nearly 1 billion December handle in New Jersey.

No Shortage of Support

There is certainly no shortage of support for a legal sports betting platform in Georgia. One such proponent, Steve Koonin, the Atlanta Hawks CEO went on record last month saying: “Billions of dollars a year are already being gambled in Georgia and the state gets nothing, no tax, no benefit,”.

Georgia's other sports teams have also signaled a willingness to work with sports betting operators and the state to make something happen. In fact, the Braves, Falcons, Hawks and Atlanta United have all come out in favor with the idea that any revenues they can generate off of a potential platform would help them alleviate some of the pain that COVID restrictions have had on their attendance and ultimately their bottom line.

It Remains to be Seen

Whether or not the latest attempt by legislators, regulators, sports teams and service providers will actually go anywhere in Georgia remains to be seen. One thing is certain though – momentum is gaining, and such a platform is as much of a reality now as it ever has been.

Border states of Alabama, South Carolina, and Florida still appear far off their legalization plans meaning that Georgia could be the only legal sports betting jurisdiction in the area. A potential gold mine awaits a decision by Georgia lawmakers. As of now, the glimmer of hope is better than nothing at all!