Four Georgia state senators who advocate sports betting in the Peach State have filed Senate Resolution 131, which is just the latest of several previously unsuccessful attempts over the last decade.
Peach State Proposition
Senators Carden Summers, Billy Hickman, Brandon Beach, and Lee Anderson have sponsored the latest sports betting bill in Georgia, Senate Resolution 131. The bill would require a constitutional amendment, which only happens if both chambers pass the resolution with two-thirds votes followed by a majority vote via a referendum at the ballot boxes.
Bipartisan Challenges
Bipartisan politics have gotten in the way of passing sports betting legislation, and last year it was Brandt Iden, vice president of government affairs for Fanatics, who articulated why he believed the legislation failed.
“What happened in Georgia was incredibly frustrating and disappointing,” said Iden. “When legislative members in leadership positions make assurances, you expect them to be negotiating in good faith and willing to hold up to their commitments.
“Representative [Marcus] Wiedower delivered to leadership and his caucus everything that was expected of him with this legislation. Yet, when the time came for leadership to hold to their deal, the goalposts weren’t just moved; they removed the entire end zone from the field. Those kind of hijinks are for schoolchildren on a playground, not serious leaders.”
Getting two-thirds of the vote has proven difficult, and it could likely sink this year’s bill as well. However, there is momentum to get the bill passed as three of Georgia’s five bordering states, including Tennessee, North Carolina, and Florida, have all launched sports betting.
Going Public
Senator Brandon Beach, one of the four senators sponsoring Senate Resolution 131, wrote an op-ed piece in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in December in support of sports betting.
Below are snippets of Beach’s column:
“On election day, Missouri became the 39th state in the country to legalize sports betting. Georgia remains one of the 11 that still outlaws the activity. This is shortsighted.
“In the next seven years, Georgia will host the College Football Playoff National Championship, World Cup games, the Super Bowl, and an NCAA Final Four.”
“GeoComply, a company that conducts location checks for regulated sports betting sites in the United States, noted a more than 100% increase in Georgia-based players trying to access legal sportsbooks in other states over the same period last year.”
“But make no mistake, when major sports events come to Atlanta starting in 2025, millions of visitors are going to expect to be able to access their favorite sports betting websites, and unless we pass legislation during this legislative session, Georgia will be an inhospitable location to many of these rabid sports fans. That shortsightedness will not only cost the state of Georgia millions of dollars in lost revenue but also will likely dictate whether our state is awarded future top-tier sporting events.”
Crossing State Lines
Georgians have found their way to Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee to put their bets in and turn around to go home once they are done. That money could be staying inside Georgia should its lawmakers pass a sports betting bill.
“Your head’s in the sand if you think this is not occurring, and your head’s in the sand if you think that putting guardrails on an activity that people are engaging in right now doesn’t take a step towards helping people,” noted Representative Wiedower.
