Georgia sports betting: When will betting in GA be legal?

The Georgia sports betting market is one of the largest in the country to remain untapped. Despite state legislators introducing several bills to legalize sports betting in recent years, key questions remain about how sportsbooks can be legalized in the Peach State.

Neither the Georgia House nor Senate could come to a consensus, or even a potential vote, on several sports betting bills introduced during the 2023 session. Perhaps most troubling for Georgia sports betting proponents is that a solution to how sportsbooks can be legalized has yet to be found.

Lawmakers are still at odds over the necessity of a constitutional amendment, or if a simple bill can instead be passed to legalize sports betting in the state.

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Georgia sports betting overview

It was ultimately an unsuccessful year for GA sports betting in 2023, though the last legislative session was the busiest for Georgia sports betting allies. What started out as a promising session with numerous sports betting bills introduced, ended in failure once again. Efforts to legalize will now have to wait until 2024 at the earliest.

The biggest question of the 2023 legislative session was whether or not sports betting can be legalized in Georgia without a constitutional amendment. A Senate resolution, SR 394, was introduced to create a study committee to evaluate the question, but it was never approved.

A subset of Georgia lawmakers believe the state’s constitution prohibits all forms of gambling and betting, with an exception for the state’s lottery and non-profit bingos. Therefore, to legalize Georgia sports betting, an amendment to the Georgia State Constitution would be necessary. A constitutional amendment first requires legislative approval from both the House and Senate before being placed on a general election ballot. If then approved by state voters, the amendment would go into effect.

2023 also marked the first time that Georgia legislators attempted to pass a bill to legalize sports betting without a constitutional amendment. Despite the interest in sports betting, no bills were approved during the 2023 legislative session.

During the state’s crossover day on March 6, 2023, the Georgia Senate voted down SR 140, a resolution seeking a constitutional amendment to approve Georgia sports betting. While the majority approved the resolution, it required a two-thirds majority to pass.

SR 140, and its companion bill, SB 172, hoped to approve Georgia sports betting through a constitutional amendment approved by state voters in November 2023.

On that same day, the House killed HB 380, a bill to legalize online sports betting without a constitutional amendment. In fact, the House never even called it for a vote. Georgia Rep. Marcus Wiedower’s (R-119) bill would have legalized online sports betting for Georgia professional sports teams and PGA Tour golf courses, such as Augusta National, through 16 online sports betting licenses.

When will Georgia sports betting be legalized?

Georgia lawmakers will assuredly again take up sports betting when the state convenes for its next session on Jan. 9, 2024. GA officials will have until March to get something done, but several questions still remain.

Legislators must determine the best vehicle to legalize sports betting if the Peach State wants to actually pass a bill. A solution to whether a constitutional amendment is necessary to legalize sports betting will help proponents band together to work towards a bill everyone can support.

Even if an agreement on an amendment is reached and approved, it’s unlikely that GA sports betting will actually be launched in 2024. An amendment would have to be approved by Georgia voters in the November 2024 election, and the Georgia Lottery would then have to promulgate rules and regulations for the new industry.

Plus, the Lottery would have to accept sports betting applications and award licenses before sports betting could launch, leaving a potential launch date more likely in 2025.

A bill to legalize sports betting on its own, without a constitutional amendment, gives Georgia the best chance to launch sports betting in 2024. If such is approved and sports betting is legalized, the Peach State could potentially see sports betting launched in the late fall or early winter of 2024.

While sports fans in Georgia await the launch of legal gambling, users in states where online sportsbooks are live can check out this guide for the best NFL betting apps.

Georgia sportsbooks legal snapshot

At least one gaming law attorney believes the state can legalize Georgia sportsbooks without a constitutional amendment. Daniel Wallach, a gaming law attorney, and Founder of Wallach Legal and UNHLaw Sports Wagering, said at the start of the 2023 session that previous sports betting bills seeking legalization through a state constitutional amendment were likely due to advice from Georgia’s legislative counsel.

It’s the path of least resistance, Wallach said, and a strategy for Georgia to avoid any potential lawsuits.

“But that’s not really advice, that’s just being overly cautious, and the legislative counsel did not definitively take the position that the prohibition against casino gambling was directed at sports betting. His view, and he took a fairly simplistic view of it, was that by virtue of the fact that there are sportsbooks inside of casinos in some states, that this makes it casino gambling,” he said.

Wallach said it is his belief, and the belief of several state attorney generals, that the Georgia constitution does not prohibit sports betting.

The state’s constitution is clear, Wallach said, in that it only prohibits three categories of gambling; casino gambling, pari-mutuel betting on horse races, and privately-operated lotteries (with an exception for the state-operated lottery).

Sports betting does not fall within these three categories.

However, legislators are still at odds over the best method for approval. Prior to 2023, the only bills seeking to legalize sports betting attempted to do so through constitutional amendments. It wasn’t until 2023 that a bill was introduced to legalize sports betting without an amendment.

The question is still undecided as the state moves into its 2024 legislative session.

Georgia voters in favor of sports betting

If a constitutional amendment to legalize sports betting finds its way onto an election ballot, it may stand a good chance of being approved. A 2022 University of Georgia survey found voters are slightly in favor of legalizing online sports betting in the Peach State.

A survey from the School of Public & International Affairs at the University of Georgia found 45.2% of 1,030 likely general election voters in the state actually supported legalizing Georgia online sports betting compared with 42.6% of voters who oppose the idea. Just 11.8% of surveyed voters were undecided on the issue.

Males heavily outweighed surveyed females in their support of online sports betting, as 58.2% of male respondents support the idea compared with just 35.4% of females. Additionally, 51.3% of liberal voters support Georgia online sports betting compared with just 42.2% of conservative voters.

The voting subsection most in favor of online sports betting in the state? Surveyed voters who reported their income between $100,000 and $149,999 a year approved of the idea at a 59.2% clip. The voting subsection most against online sports betting? 73% of respondents who make under $25,000 a year reported being against any bill that would legalize online sports betting.

Interestingly enough, Georgia voters heavily support the idea of casino gambling in the state, as 59.7% of survey respondents support casino gambling, 29.1% oppose the idea, and 11.3% answered “don’t know.”

GA sports betting legalization history

Legislators debated sports betting in 2022, but no bills were brought to either the House or Senate floors throughout the year.

In March 2022, the House Economic Development and Tourism Committee approved legislation SB 142 and SR 135, after the two bills were considered dead in the state. SB 142 is a bill to legalize online and retail sports betting, and SR 135 is a resolution to allow for the vote on a constitutional amendment to legalize sports betting.

Neither of the pieces of legislation went any further.

The bills would have legalized retail and online sports betting in Georgia. Eighteen online sports betting licenses would have been available, with licenses split between Georgia professional sports franchises and other entities. Professional sports franchises would have been able to offer both retail and online sports betting in the state.

The prospective bill set GA’s sports betting tax rate at 20%, with potential license holders having to pay a $100,000 application fee and a $1 million license fee to operate in the state. A Georgia Gaming Commission would have been created to oversee all legislation regarding state gaming.

Georgia Senate approved sports betting in 2021

Georgia lawmakers attempted to legalize GA sportsbooks in 2021 but weren’t able to push a bill through the Georgia House of Representatives. Members of the Georgia Senate passed bill SB 142 by a vote of 32-17 in March 2021. The bill would have legalized Georgia sports betting and put it under the purveyance of the Georgia Lottery.

Senate Bill 142, a bill amending chapter 27 of Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, would allow for Georgia online sports betting to be regulated by the Georgia Lottery Corporation. The bill was moved to the Georgia General Assembly prior to the final session of the evening by the House Rules Committee.

However, it stalled out in the House and never received a vote.

A separate resolution, Senate Resolution 135, proposed a constitutional amendment to provide for sports betting in the state. The amendment was passed by the Georgia Senate in a 41-10 bipartisan vote in March 2021. The amendment outlined where money from sports betting would have been appropriated, with at least 50% of the proceeds marked for need-based scholarships, grants, or loans to citizens attending University Systems of Georgia, branches of the Technical College System of Georgia, or eligible private colleges and universities.

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