{"id":139370,"date":"2020-06-22T05:03:52","date_gmt":"2020-06-22T12:03:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=139370"},"modified":"2020-06-22T13:30:11","modified_gmt":"2020-06-22T20:30:11","slug":"georgia-sports-betting-bill-gets-last-shot-as-lawmakers-conclude-2020-session-this-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-sports-betting-bill-gets-last-shot-as-lawmakers-conclude-2020-session-this-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Georgia Sports Betting Bill Gets Last Shot, as Lawmakers Conclude 2020 Session This Week"},"content":{"rendered":"

Monday starts the final week of the Georgia General Assembly\u2019s 2020 session \u2014 and thanks to a move by a state Senate committee \u2014 online sports betting gets one more chance for passage.<\/p>\n

\"Georgia
Matt Ryan (left) of the Atlanta Falcons celebrates scoring a touchdown with his teammates against Tampa Bay. A state lawmaker is hoping to score a win by pushing a sports betting legalization bill through the legislature during the final week of the session. (Image: Mark LoMoglio\/Associated Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Senate Special Judiciary Committee voted to gut a House bill dealing with traffic violations and replace it with language from a sports betting proposal filed by state Sen. Burt Jones<\/a> (R-Jackson). House Bill 903 now goes before the full Senate this week, and if it\u2019s passed there, it would need to be passed by the House before it can go to the governor\u2019s desk.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In speaking before the committee Friday, Jones said sports betting could conservatively generate $60 million for preschool education and the state\u2019s college scholarship program. It comes at a time when Georgia lawmakers are facing the need to cut spending by more than $2.5 billion for the 2021 fiscal year, which starts in July, according to the Capitol Beat News Service<\/em>.<\/p>\n

This right here, the online betting program, is, I think, an answer to adding significant revenue dollars to a system [that] moving down the road will continue to need more dollars,\u201d Jones said, according to CBNS<\/em>. \u201cAnd you\u2019re taking an activity that is currently going on right now.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The legislature is still in session now because the coronavirus pandemic forced leaders to suspend the session in March with 11 calendar days remaining in the session. Lawmakers gathered in Atlanta to resume work last Monday.<\/p>\n

Tax Rate Doubled from Initial Bill<\/h2>\n

Much of the bill Jones filed earlier this year remains. But one difference is a change in the tax rate. Instead of a 10 percent fee, the bill the Senate panel approved includes a 20 percent tax on adjusted gross income.<\/p>\n

The Georgia Lottery Corp. would serve as the regulatory body overseeing sports betting. Jones\u2019 bill does not indicate how many licenses would be available. But those seeking licenses would need to pay a $50,000 nonrefundable application fee, and approved sportsbooks would pay an annual license fee of $900,000.<\/p>\n

Similar to Tennessee, Jones\u2019 bill pertains only to mobile sports betting applications.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Jones\u2019 bill and other proposals to expand legalized gaming in the state fizzled when the legislature began its session earlier this year. However, with state leaders looking to make budget cuts, they may be more willing to pass a bill that provides funding for education.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

State Rep. Ron Stephens (R-Savannah) told Casino.org<\/em> earlier this year that the HOPE Scholarship program, which would receive funding from Jones\u2019 proposal, is only covering about 70 percent of college costs for recipients \u2013 and that was before the coronavirus sent the economy into a tailspin. That\u2019s why he was pushing for a referendum to allow casino resorts<\/a> in the state.<\/p>\n

$60 Million: Conservative or Rosy?<\/h2>\n

Jones may believe that online sports betting in Georgia could bring in $60 million in tax revenues. But in looking at other sports betting states, that may not be feasible.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pennsylvania<\/a>, for example, has a population of 12.8 million people, roughly 2 million more than Georgia. Its sports betting handle trails only Nevada and New Jersey, and the state taxes sports betting at 34 percent.<\/p>\n

Through the first eight months of the fiscal year (July-February), Pennsylvania collected $31.4 million in tax revenue. That period included all of the football season, which is the most popular sport for bettors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Monday starts the final week of the Georgia General Assembly\u2019s 2020 session \u2014 and thanks to a move by a state Senate committee \u2014 online sports betting gets one more chance for passage. The Senate Special Judiciary Committee voted to gut a House bill dealing with traffic violations and replace it with language from a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":139371,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[61,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAs Georgia Legislature Winds Down, Sports Betting Bill Gets Last Shot<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A bill that would let the Georgia Lottery oversee mobile sports betting cleared a state Senate commitee and could go to the floor this week.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"As Georgia Legislature Winds Down, Sports Betting Bill Gets Last Shot\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A bill that would let the Georgia Lottery oversee mobile sports betting cleared a state Senate commitee and could go to the floor this week.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-sports-betting-bill-gets-last-shot-as-lawmakers-conclude-2020-session-this-week\/\" \/>\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=\"2020-06-22T12:03:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-06-22T20:30:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hi-res-9670216a58abf5cb87a0c9a036fcde23_crop_north.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"533\" \/>\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=\"3 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-sports-betting-bill-gets-last-shot-as-lawmakers-conclude-2020-session-this-week\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-sports-betting-bill-gets-last-shot-as-lawmakers-conclude-2020-session-this-week\/\",\"name\":\"As Georgia Legislature Winds Down, Sports Betting Bill Gets Last Shot\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-sports-betting-bill-gets-last-shot-as-lawmakers-conclude-2020-session-this-week\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-sports-betting-bill-gets-last-shot-as-lawmakers-conclude-2020-session-this-week\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hi-res-9670216a58abf5cb87a0c9a036fcde23_crop_north.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-06-22T12:03:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-06-22T20:30:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/eb30e765d812fc9b38b333f8d13068b2\"},\"description\":\"A bill that would let the Georgia Lottery oversee mobile sports betting cleared a state Senate commitee and could go to the floor this week.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-sports-betting-bill-gets-last-shot-as-lawmakers-conclude-2020-session-this-week\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-sports-betting-bill-gets-last-shot-as-lawmakers-conclude-2020-session-this-week\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-sports-betting-bill-gets-last-shot-as-lawmakers-conclude-2020-session-this-week\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hi-res-9670216a58abf5cb87a0c9a036fcde23_crop_north.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hi-res-9670216a58abf5cb87a0c9a036fcde23_crop_north.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":533,\"caption\":\"Matt Ryan, left) of the Atlanta Falcons celebrates scoring a touchdown with his teammates against Tampa Bay. A state lawmaker is hoping to score a win by pushing a sports betting legalization bill through the legislature during the final week of the session. (Image: Mark LoMoglio\/Associated Press)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-sports-betting-bill-gets-last-shot-as-lawmakers-conclude-2020-session-this-week\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Politics\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/politics\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Georgia Sports Betting Bill Gets Last Shot, as Lawmakers Conclude 2020 Session This Week\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/eb30e765d812fc9b38b333f8d13068b2\",\"name\":\"Steve Bittenbender\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-7-1-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-7-1-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Steve Bittenbender\"},\"description\":\"Steve Bittenbender covers Midwest and Gulport news for Casino.org. He also specializes in sports betting and horse racing. Steve is a veteran reporter and brings more than two decades of experience covering sports, business and politics. He joined Casino.org in 2019. Steve has also covered major collegiate and professional sports for the Associated Press and the Louisville Courier-Journal and is frequently featured on local network TV newscasts and podcasts for his horse racing business and legislative expertise. A Reuters contributor, he has also previously served as editor for Government Security News. Steve lives in Louisville, Kentucky -- the epicenter of the US horse racing industry -- with his wife and son. He is also an avid poker player, having learned from his uncle as a wholesome after-school pastime with cookies and milk. Contact Steve at stevebittenbender@casino.org.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/steve-bittenbender\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"As Georgia Legislature Winds Down, Sports Betting Bill Gets Last Shot","description":"A bill that would let the Georgia Lottery oversee mobile sports betting cleared a state Senate commitee and could go to the floor this week.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"As Georgia Legislature Winds Down, Sports Betting Bill Gets Last Shot","og_description":"A bill that would let the Georgia Lottery oversee mobile sports betting cleared a state Senate commitee and could go to the floor this week.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-sports-betting-bill-gets-last-shot-as-lawmakers-conclude-2020-session-this-week\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2020-06-22T12:03:52+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-06-22T20:30:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":533,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hi-res-9670216a58abf5cb87a0c9a036fcde23_crop_north.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Steve Bittenbender","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Casino_Org","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Steve Bittenbender","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-sports-betting-bill-gets-last-shot-as-lawmakers-conclude-2020-session-this-week\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-sports-betting-bill-gets-last-shot-as-lawmakers-conclude-2020-session-this-week\/","name":"As Georgia Legislature Winds Down, Sports Betting Bill Gets Last Shot","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-sports-betting-bill-gets-last-shot-as-lawmakers-conclude-2020-session-this-week\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-sports-betting-bill-gets-last-shot-as-lawmakers-conclude-2020-session-this-week\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hi-res-9670216a58abf5cb87a0c9a036fcde23_crop_north.jpg","datePublished":"2020-06-22T12:03:52+00:00","dateModified":"2020-06-22T20:30:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/eb30e765d812fc9b38b333f8d13068b2"},"description":"A bill that would let the Georgia Lottery oversee mobile sports betting cleared a state Senate commitee and could go to the floor this week.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-sports-betting-bill-gets-last-shot-as-lawmakers-conclude-2020-session-this-week\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-sports-betting-bill-gets-last-shot-as-lawmakers-conclude-2020-session-this-week\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-sports-betting-bill-gets-last-shot-as-lawmakers-conclude-2020-session-this-week\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hi-res-9670216a58abf5cb87a0c9a036fcde23_crop_north.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hi-res-9670216a58abf5cb87a0c9a036fcde23_crop_north.jpg","width":800,"height":533,"caption":"Matt Ryan, left) of the Atlanta Falcons celebrates scoring a touchdown with his teammates against Tampa Bay. A state lawmaker is hoping to score a win by pushing a sports betting legalization bill through the legislature during the final week of the session. (Image: Mark LoMoglio\/Associated Press)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-sports-betting-bill-gets-last-shot-as-lawmakers-conclude-2020-session-this-week\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Politics","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/politics\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Georgia Sports Betting Bill Gets Last Shot, as Lawmakers Conclude 2020 Session This Week"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/eb30e765d812fc9b38b333f8d13068b2","name":"Steve Bittenbender","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-7-1-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-7-1-96x96.png","caption":"Steve Bittenbender"},"description":"Steve Bittenbender covers Midwest and Gulport news for Casino.org. He also specializes in sports betting and horse racing. Steve is a veteran reporter and brings more than two decades of experience covering sports, business and politics. He joined Casino.org in 2019. Steve has also covered major collegiate and professional sports for the Associated Press and the Louisville Courier-Journal and is frequently featured on local network TV newscasts and podcasts for his horse racing business and legislative expertise. A Reuters contributor, he has also previously served as editor for Government Security News. Steve lives in Louisville, Kentucky -- the epicenter of the US horse racing industry -- with his wife and son. He is also an avid poker player, having learned from his uncle as a wholesome after-school pastime with cookies and milk. Contact Steve at stevebittenbender@casino.org.","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/steve-bittenbender\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139370"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139370"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139370\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}