Amended online sports betting legislation progresses in Georgia
House Bill 686 and House Resolution 450 both approved by the state’s House of Representatives Committee on Higher Education, although tight timeline could prove costly
Two pieces of proposed online sports betting legislation have moved forward in Georgia ahead of the state’s crossover deadline on March 6.
Both House Bill 686 and House Resolution 450 were approved in the state’s House of Representatives Committee on Higher Education.
HB686 included an amended tax rate of 24%, up from the original 20% in the first draft of the bill.
HR450 proposes a constitutional amendment which would eventually allow sports betting to be put up to a public vote. The committee nixed part of the legislation that would have added igaming to the vote.
Said constitutional amendment means that the bill would have to pass through the House by a two-thirds majority.
The next hurdle for both bills is Georgia’s House Rules Committee.
Should the House fail to approve the legislation before the end of the day today, March 6, any hopes of introducing sports betting in the Peach State will collapse for another year.
If the bills make it through the House, Georgia residents will have the chance to vote on introducing the legislation on the November 2026 ballot. If the vote is successful, sports betting could go live in Georgia on July 31, 2027.
Any sports betting market created would be regulated by the Georgia Lottery Corporation.
In total, 16 licenses would be allocated for the market, with seven available to operators through a public bidding process.
Five would go to Georgia’s professional sports teams, with one each allocated for the PGA Tour, Augusta National Golf Course, and Atlanta Motor Speedway.
In addition to ringfencing funds for the Georgia Lottery HOPE Scholarship program and pre-kindergarten services, up to $22.5m could be allocated towards gambling harm treatment services.
This would come from 15% of the first $150m in sports betting tax revenues in a fiscal year.
Last week, Georgia’s senate committee on Regulated Industries and Utilities voted down Senate Resolution 131, which was designed to legalize both sports betting and igaming in the state via a constitutional amendment.