Georgia introduces more online sports betting proposals before senate crossover
Senator Marcus Wiedower filed bills HR 450 and HB 686 in Georgia’s House of Representatives after Senate Resolution 131 failed to progress last week
Two new online sports betting proposals has been tabled in Georgia ahead of the state’s senate crossover on March 6.
Republican Senator Marcus Wiedower filed House Resolution 450 and House Bill 686 in Georgia’s House of Representatives on February 28.
The legislation would include a 20% tax rate in the state, along with an initial license application fee of $100,000 for operators.
Should prospective operators receive a license, the full fee is set at $1m.
The legislation would allow for 16 online sports betting licenses, with one automatically going to the Georgia Lottery Corporation.
Individual licenses would go to Georgia’s five professional sports teams, one license would be designated for the Augusta National Golf Course, one for the PGA Tour, and one to Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The remaining seven licenses would be awarded to sports betting operators via a public bidding process.
Georgia’s proposed sports betting legislation would also provide up to $22.5m in funding for services tackling gambling-related harms in the state.
The funding would be generated from Georgia’s sports betting tax revenues in a fiscal year, with 15% of the first $150m raised earmarked for problem gambling services.
Wiedower’s legislation will need to be approved by Georgia’s House of Representatives by the March 6 crossover deadline and sent to the senate.
Both pieces of legislation are scheduled to be heard by the House’s Higher Education committee.
Last week, Georgia’s senate committee on Regulated Industries and Utilities voted down Senate Resolution 131, which was designed to legalize sports betting and igaming in the state via a constitutional amendment.
This would have given Georgia residents the opportunity to vote on whether or not to introduce the legislation in a 2026 election.
Another prospective sports betting bill, Senate Bill 208, remains active in the state after its introduction by Senator Billy Hickman.
SB 208 proposes a 25% tax rate, a $1.5m annual license fee, and 18 potential licenses for operators.