New sports betting bill lands in Georgia
Senate Bill 208 includes a 25% tax rate and 18 licenses as lawmakers look to bring legalized sports betting to the state after 2024 failure
Draft legislation proposing the legalization of sports betting has been filed in Georgia, with a 25% tax rate on gross revenue and 18 licenses.
Senate Bill 208 was submitted by 72-year-old Republican Senator Billy Hickman last week and would not require an amendment to the state constitution.
Hickman, along with three other senators, had proposed Senate Resolution 131, which would have required a two-thirds majority backing in both the House and Senate before being put to voters.
Instead, SB 208 would only require a majority vote in both chambers. It has been referred to the Senate Committee for Regulated Industries and Utilities.
Operators would be required to pay a $100,000 application fee and an annual $1.5m license charge to launch in the Peach State.
The market would be regulated by the Georgia Lottery Corporation, with licenses valid for five years.
Of the 18 licenses available, five would be tied to Georgia’s professional sports teams, including the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA, while one would be held by the regulator itself.
Augusta National Golf Course and the PGA Tour would also each be eligible for a license, as would the Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Two entities that have been approved by the National Steeplechase Association would also be eligible.
The remaining seven licenses would be awarded following a public procurement process.
The Georgia legislative session runs until April 4. Hopes for legalizing online sports betting were dashed last year after two bills failed to be heard by the House Rules Committee.
A poll commissioned by the University of Georgia and Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce claimed that 63% of voters back legal sports betting in Georgia, a state that is home to more than 11 million people.
Elsewhere, Missouri’s hopes of launching its legal sports betting market by the summer were quashed after Secretary of State Denny Hoskins denied an emergency law reading.
Instead, the Show-Me State will be working to a timeline closer to the fall, ahead of the deadline to launch on December 1.