Next Steps for Georgia Sports Betting Bill
Georgia Sports Betting Bill: Back in early January Georgia began to take steps towards legalizing sports betting. House Bill 86 that would provide for the lottery game of sports wagering in Georgia was continued to inch closer to legalize sports betting and just got closer.
The Bill was originally voted on by the Georgia House Development and Tourism Committee and was just passed by the Georgia Senate with a 41-10 bipartisan vote and the Senate also passed a follow-up Bill dealing with regulations 37-13. The Bill will now head to the Georgia House of Representatives.
“The constitutional amendment is simply allowing the very people that you represent — the ones that vote for or, or maybe don’t vote for you — you’re allowing them to decide no or yes on sports betting,” said Senate Rules Chairman and Bill sponsor Jeff Mullis.
Mullis is one of the multiple sponsors of the Bill including six representatives, Ron Stephans, Calvin Smyre, Billy Mitchell, Lee Hawkins, Shelly Hutchinson, and Matt Dollar.
“Ladies and gentlemen, here we are again, another day that we can improve the quality of life for Georgia by this,” Mullis said. “Let’s send a message today that we’re allowing the people to vote.”
Georgia Senators are not the only ones that have seen the massive influx of revenue that legal sports betting has brought other states. It seems that as we go on each month states continue to break and set new records on total money wagered and brought in from sports gambling.
Sportsbooks
If the Bill is approved by the House of Representatives retail sports betting will remain illegal and all wagering will have to go through a legal sportsbook. For a sportsbook to gain the rights to be used in Georgia there is an application fee of $10,000 and each year the sportsbook will be charged a $100,000 licensing fee.
Some of the top sportsbooks that are expected to pursue rights in Georgia are DraftKings, Fanduel, Bet MGM, and William Hill. Retail sports betting is betting in person at an official site or casino, meaning only online gambling will be legal if this bill is passed.
Legal sportsbooks continue to grow across states and are competing with different promotions and ways to set themselves apart and prove why you should use their site and not the competitors. Georgia is a state with plenty of popular sports stars and teams in different leagues.
Some sportsbooks have partnered with teams and this would most likely hold true for the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta Hawks, or Atlanta Braves.
Earliest We See Legal Betting in Georgia
Now as the Bill continues to progress and go through the necessary processes to allow legal sports betting in Georgia we do not expect to see this legislation approved before 2022.
This Bill is expected to be challenged by the House of Representatives and although it has passed in the Senate it is not a sure thing.
In-state college betting will be illegal if this bill is passed meaning you cannot bet on top college teams like the Georgia Bulldogs football team.
For this bill to be passed two-thirds of the House of Representatives in Georgia need to vote in favor of the Bill. Right now Georgia residents can only wait and see what will happen, but seeing the Bill advance so easily in the Senate is a reason for optimism.
Types of Wagers
It is expected that if this Bill is passed people in Georgia will have access to all of the normal wager types. These wager options include Moneyline, point spread, totals, parlays, live bets and prop bets as the most common options.
