{"id":168597,"date":"2021-03-25T17:23:15","date_gmt":"2021-03-26T00:23:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=168597"},"modified":"2021-03-26T04:35:20","modified_gmt":"2021-03-26T11:35:20","slug":"georgia-voters-could-get-chance-to-decide-on-sports-betting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/georgia-voters-could-get-chance-to-decide-on-sports-betting\/","title":{"rendered":"Georgia Voters Could Get Chance to Decide on Sports Betting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Georgia voters could be closer to having a say in whether they want to legalize online sports betting in the state.<\/p>\n

\"Rep.
Rep. Ron Stephens addresses an audience at a legislative event. Stephens supports online sports betting in the state. (Image: USA Today Network News<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A key committee this week voted in favor of a measure requiring a constitutional amendment on sports betting, according to the Capitol Beat <\/em>website. The Georgia House of Representatives\u2019 Economic Development and Tourism Committee also approved a bill regarding management of sports betting in the state.<\/p>\n

If approved by two-thirds of both legislative chambers, the proposed amendment would go before Georgia voters during the next election.<\/p>\n

Rep. Ron Stephens (R) initially said he thought online sports betting would not require a constitutional amendment. He earlier introduced a measure requiring only a majority vote<\/a> in both legislative chambers before the bill would go to the governor for consideration.<\/p>\n

However, Stephens said the Senate\u2019s support of a constitutional amendment<\/a> makes sense for the House, too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The Senate decided to take the route of a constitutional amendment, and I\u2019m OK with that,\u201d Stephens said. \u201cIt removes all doubt, if there is any, that this can be legal.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The two measures addressing online sports betting were referred to the House Rules Committee on Thursday. These are Senate Resolution 135, proposing a constitutional amendment allowing sports betting, and Senate Bill 142, authorizing the Georgia Lottery Corp. to manage sports wagering.<\/p>\n

The legislative session ends Wednesday at the Capitol in Atlanta. This gives lawmakers only a few days to decide on sports betting or any other legislative matter.<\/p>\n

Pro Teams Support Sports Betting<\/h2>\n

Stephens is among sports betting proponents who say millions of Georgians already bet on sports illegally. That costs the state tax money that could go to education and other programs, he said. Some Georgians also are going into Tennessee to bet on sporting events, using their smartphones. Tennessee legalized online sports betting in the fall.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf we make it legal, we\u2019ll get revenue out of it,\u201d Stephens said.<\/p>\n

\n

Opponents contend any gambling leads to an increase in crime and can shatter families that fall into a financial hole from continued losses.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Atlanta\u2019s four major professional sports teams have joined together in an effort to win approval of sports betting in the state. Those teams are the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Hawks, and Atlanta United.<\/p>\n

In the vote this week, the House committee agreed to allow betting only on professional sporting events, and not college games.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor us to fight chancellors of these colleges would be an uphill battle,\u201d Stephens said. \u201cFor me, I want to get this thing started.\u201d<\/p>\n

Money Earmarked for Education<\/h2>\n

Under the proposed constitutional amendment, 20 percent of net proceeds from online sports betting would go to the state, according to Capitol Beat<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Of that, 40.5 percent would go to Georgia\u2019s HOPE scholarships and pre-kindergarten programs. Programs for needs-based scholarships would receive 20.5 percent of sports betting tax revenue.<\/p>\n

Additional amounts would go to broadband services in rural Georgia, rural health care, and mental health services. A smaller portion would be used to help attract major sporting events to Georgia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Georgia voters could be closer to having a say in whether they want to legalize online sports betting in the state. A key committee this week voted in favor of a measure requiring a constitutional amendment on sports betting, according to the Capitol Beat website. The Georgia House of Representatives\u2019 Economic Development and Tourism Committee […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":168601,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[61,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGeorgia Voters Could Get Chance to Decide on Sports Betting - Casino.org Georgia Voters Could Get Chance to Decide on Sports Betting<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Georgia voters could be closer to having a say in whether they want to legalize online sports betting in the state. A key committee this week voted in With less than a week before the end of the legislative session, Georgia lawmakers are considering a change to the constitution to allow sports betting.\" \/>\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=\"Georgia Voters Could Get Chance to Decide on Sports Betting - Casino.org Georgia Voters Could Get Chance to Decide on Sports Betting\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Georgia voters could be closer to having a say in whether they want to legalize online sports betting in the state. 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