Georgia looks to renewed sports betting push in 2023 with new bill
Bipartisan legislation would allow up to 18 online sportsbooks with nine awarded to sports franchises in the state
Legislators in Georgia have kicked off a potential sports betting legalization drive with a new bill which would regulate and license the vertical in the state through its sports franchises.
Senate bill 57, which has been compiled by both sides of the aisle, is known as the ‘Georgia Sports Betting Integrity Act’, and was first read in the Georgia Senate on Thursday afternoon.
It is the second attempt to legalize sports betting in the state, following a similar failed effort in 2022.
The bill would authorize the Georgia Lottery Corporation (GLC) to create a public entity to regulate sports betting, with that body to be governed by the Georgia Sports Betting Commission, which would be empowered with all the powers of a licensing regulator.
The commission will be made up of seven members, all to be appointed by the GLC at a later date.
SB 57 allows for the licensing of up to 18 online sportsbooks under so-called type one licenses, however nine of these are set aside for named sports franchises operating in the state.
These include the Atlanta Falcons, Braves, Dream, Atlanta FC, and the Atlanta Hawks, as well as the PGA Tour, Augusta National, Atlanta Motor Speedway, and Michelin Raceway.
Type one licensees would be required to pay a non-refundable application fee of $100,000 as well as an annual fee of $1m, and would be able to engage in revenue-sharing agreement with sportsbook partners without the need for consent from the commission.
Type two licenses include retail sportsbook operators, as well as platform providers, distributors, service providers, and those wishing to operate sports betting kiosks. A total of 10 of these licenses will be available.
Fees for type two licenses vary between the type of licensee, with distributors, service, and platform providers paying application fees of $10,000 and annual fees of $1m, whereas retail sportsbook operators will pay just $500 in application and license fees.
All licenses awarded will be valid for a term of 20 years, however, licenses cannot be issued until September 1, 2025. Licenses can be renewed for the same term or transferred, with the commission empowered to develop this process further.
Similar to other states, operators in Georgia would be limited to the use of official league data only when compiling odds.
There will be no restrictions on the types of bets offered by online operators, however kiosk-based operators are limited to fixed-odds, money line, over/under, parlays, and spread betting only.
Operators in the state will be taxed at a rate of 20% of their adjusted gross income on a monthly basis, with licensees subject to annual reporting requirements and duty of care procedures to not allow those under the age of 21 to place bets.