{"id":112970,"date":"2019-08-22T21:30:21","date_gmt":"2019-08-23T04:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=112970"},"modified":"2019-08-23T12:14:45","modified_gmt":"2019-08-23T19:14:45","slug":"georgia-lawmaker-sees-chance-for-all-or-nothing-gambling-vote-in-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-lawmaker-sees-chance-for-all-or-nothing-gambling-vote-in-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Georgia Lawmaker and Expanded Gaming Proponent Pushing for All-or-Nothing Gambling Referendum in 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Georgia lawmakers come together to discuss how to increase revenues, one legislator wants to see voters decide whether the state should expand Georgia gambling or do away with it entirely.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Georgia state Rep. Ron Stephens wants to see the state offer casino and other types of gambling in order to fund college scholarships. He’s pushing for a referendum that would essentially let voters legalize all forms of gaming or none, which would end the state’s lottery. (Image: GateHouse News)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

State Rep. Ron Stephens (R-Savannah) told Casino.<\/em>org Thursday his proposal for an amendment to the state constitution would either allow all forms of gambling or none at all in Georgia. He added that substantial majorities of Republicans and Independents, regardless of how they feel about gambling, want the ability to vote on the matter in a referendum.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cFor me, I want to lay the question on the table, basically to change the constitution to allow for gambling,\u201d he said. \u201cAll types of gambling, if approved, or no gambling at all. That\u2019s where we are. That\u2019s what the public really needs to vote on is, if you\u2019re for gambling, vote yes. If you would like for all gambling to go away, vote no.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The earliest a referendum could hit the ballot would be in 2020.<\/p>\n

Stephens, who has been in office since 1997, has long been a proponent for expanded gaming, and he said that public sentiment has changed as the state has grown in recent years. However, he admitted that the change in attitude has not happened as quickly in the Atlanta statehouse.<\/p>\n

Now, though, Stephens, as the chair of the state House Committee on Economic Development and Tourism, may have an opportunity to push for an amendment. Earlier this month, Gov. Brian Kemp called on state agencies to review their budgets and propose how they can cut four percent this fiscal year, which will end on June 30, 2020, and six percent the following year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks to years of strong, conservative leadership and pro-growth policies, our state’s economy is thriving,\u201d Kemp said in a proclamation. \u201cTo secure an even brighter future for our state, we must continue to budget conservatively, spend wisely, and put Georgia taxpayers first.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shortly after Kemp called for cuts, legislative leaders formed committees to find ways to increase revenues. Stephens will also serve on the House Special Committee on Economic Growth, and one of the topics the panel almost certainly will discuss is gambling.<\/p>\n

Restoring HOPE<\/h2>\n

Currently, the only gaming Georgia allows is charitable gaming and the state lottery. The lottery is used to fund HOPE Scholarships for the state\u2019s college students. The scholarships used to cover full tuition and books for students who met certain criteria, However, now the scholarship amounts have decreased because of the population growth in the state.<\/p>\n

Stephens said expanded gambling would allow for the state to restore HOPE scholarships to previous levels. It\u2019s possible gaming revenues could also help fund Medicaid and other healthcare issues, he added.<\/p>\n

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution<\/em> reported that Gov. Kemp has publicly expressed his opposition to expanded gambling in Georgia, but he would consider standing aside if a referendum stated that proceeds would benefit HOPE.<\/p>\n

Still, not all of Rep. Stephens\u2019s colleagues are convinced.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile there would likely be some revenue increases due to gambling, this revenue would be more than offset by the increased costs to our state due to gambling addiction, sex trafficking, loss of jobs, less spending by those who gamble, small businesses closing, increased crime, and bankruptcies,\u201d state Rep. Wes Cantrell (R-Woodstock) told the Journal-Constitution<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Creating ‘Destination Resorts’<\/h2>\n

If the gambling amendment passes through the Georgia legislature, which would require two-thirds approval from both the House and Senate, and the voters approve the referendum, Stephens said the state would license three casinos. And the veteran lawmaker gave a pretty vivid description for what a Georgia casino<\/a> would look like.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re not really casinos anymore,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re calling ours destination resorts because casinos, in your mind you think of something that you see in some of these other states that are relatively small, and they\u2019re nothing more than just slot machines and sometimes a hotel with fast food stores on the inside. That\u2019s not what we want at all. We\u2019re looking for a minimum of a $2 billion investment per location. The most locations in Georgia would be three.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Stephens expects the casinos to create up to 10,000 jobs in the state. As far as locations go, those would be decided by a gaming commission that would review bids. He believes a neutral party, like the attorney general, should also be involved to minimize any potential corruption when it comes to awarding licenses and selecting locations.<\/p>\n

Beyond casinos, the gambling referendum, if passed, would also open the door to sports betting, horse racing<\/a>, and other types of wagering.<\/p>\n

Stephens said he has a bill that\u2019s already passed his committee from the past session, but has languished in the House Rules Committee. He said he\u2019s willing to push that bill or support another, similar proposal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt all depends on what we hear from our members in the state of Georgia,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As Georgia lawmakers come together to discuss how to increase revenues, one legislator wants to see voters decide whether the state should expand Georgia gambling or do away with it entirely. State Rep. Ron Stephens (R-Savannah) told Casino.org Thursday his proposal for an amendment to the state constitution would either allow all forms of gambling […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":112971,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,61],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGeorgia Lawmaker Sees Chance for All-or-Nothing Gambling Vote in 2020<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Rep. 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Ron Stephens is pushing for a Georgia gambling referendum to either allow all kinds of gambling in the state or none, which would end the state lottery.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-lawmaker-sees-chance-for-all-or-nothing-gambling-vote-in-2020\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-08-23T04:30:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-08-23T19:14:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Stephens.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Steve Bittenbender\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Steve Bittenbender\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-lawmaker-sees-chance-for-all-or-nothing-gambling-vote-in-2020\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-lawmaker-sees-chance-for-all-or-nothing-gambling-vote-in-2020\/\",\"name\":\"Georgia Lawmaker Sees Chance for All-or-Nothing Gambling Vote in 2020\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-lawmaker-sees-chance-for-all-or-nothing-gambling-vote-in-2020\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-lawmaker-sees-chance-for-all-or-nothing-gambling-vote-in-2020\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Stephens.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-08-23T04:30:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-08-23T19:14:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/eb30e765d812fc9b38b333f8d13068b2\"},\"description\":\"Rep. 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