Georgia Sports Betting on Hold Until 2024 as Lawmakers Stall Gaming Expansion
Georgia sports betting efforts are officially deadened for 2023 after the General Assembly adjourned late Wed night.
Despite a snow flurry of bills introduced to expand gaming in the Peach State, and recent polling suggesting there’s passable public financial backing to pass gambling on sports, the Georgia General Assembly opted non to act.
Five pieces of lawmaking to legalize sports betting or consider the merits of doing so were introduced in the capital of Georgia chapiter during the legislature’s 2023 session.
The statutes sought-after(a) to spread out gaming through an array of legislative paths, as lawmakers remain unsure as to whether the General Assembly possesses the dominance to singlehandedly expand gambling. Some elected officials say voters must approve of any motility to permit unexampled forms of gambling, patch others fight that the law-makers can buoy borrow sports betting as a lottery game and hence it does non want ballot approval.
In January, as the Sakartvelo General Assembly convened, the odds appeared meliorate than ever that sports betting would at least chance legislative favor. But the divisive publication resulted in deadlock erstwhile again.
Rallying Support Difficult
Georgia has been led past the GOP for many years. Republicans hold controlled the province Senate since 2002 and the House of Representatives since 2004.
Conservatives in the Peach State experience historically been to a greater extent opposed to efforts to expand gambling. Georgia remains unity of the more restrictive gaming states, as the only when allowable forms of gambling are the state-run lottery and certain forms of charitable gaming the likes of bingo and raffles.
The Georgia Lottery was authorised through a 1992 ballot referendum passed by voters that amended the country constitution. Sakartvelo lawmakers inwards 2021 passed a gaming expanding upon bill, but it applied only if to good-hearted gaming and embracing bingo as a allowable game, which also includes raffles, punchboards, and root for tabs.
A public opinion poll released cobbler's last October by the University of Sakartvelo found that nearly sextet inward 10 Georgians back up further expanding gaming to include commercial-grade formats, whether it be casinos or sports betting. group A separate poll from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution found that to a greater extent voters back up sports betting than oppose it.
But in the State Capitol, lawmakers couldn’t come to a consensus on sports betting. The thing isn’t drumbeater per se, but the avenue to allowing legal sportsbooks resulted in differing opinions.
Legislative Consensus Needed
Former Sakartvelo Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold Melton wrote an opinion inwards January that sports betting doesn’t require a constitutional amendment. But some lawmakers believe it does.
Senate Resolution 140 sought to enlightened a ballot referendum this fall, but the legislation, which required two-thirds legal age bread and butter inwards apiece chamber to contact voters, failed past viii votes. SR 140 received a 30-26 vote in the 56-member Senate.
I don’t acquire wherefore it’s wrongfulness to let the people voting on this issue,” said SR 140 patronize Sen. Bill Cowsert (R-Athens). “We’re non all small-minded dictators upwardly here.”
An easier itinerary to sports betting inward Sakartvelo would live for the Assembly to take for sports gambling as a lottery game and permit the Sakartvelo Lottery to regulate online sportsbooks. group A traditional legislative mental process would require only if unsubdivided bulk bread and butter inwards the Senate and House.
After lawmakers rejected bills to legalize sports gambling inwards a traditional legislative manner, another resolve — Senate Resolution 394 — was introduced to initiate a sports betting contemplate committee. The 10-person, two-way committee would feature presented the nation with its recommendations on whether effectual sports betting is in the state’s best interestingness and how lawmakers should go game well-nigh legalizing the activity in 2024. SR 394 also failed to come on before the Assembly’s adjournment.
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