The Georgia senate will vote again on Thursday for the official legalization of sports wagering, despite the failure of a previous legislation that would have permitted sports wagering in the state, including horse racing. However, this time the focus of the legislation is on legalizing sports wagering only without horse racing betting. The act was attached to a separate soapbox derby bill and was quickly enacted in the Senate Economic Development and Tourism Committee on an 8-1 vote. Additionally, a new rewritten bill, House Bill 237, could soon be voted on by the full Senate. Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who helped bring the bill back to the Senate, stated that the Senate should render a verdict on the idea of sports wagering, with the aim of either putting it to bed or passing it, which he says would be like picking up $75 million in the street.
The legislation aims to permit sports wagering under the state Lottery without changing the state Constitution, which would require a two-thirds vote of members in the state House and Senate and the support of Georgia voters in a referendum. If this latest sports betting bill receives a majority validation from the state House, state Senate and Gov. Brian Kemp, it could become law. Kemp and Jones have already backed sports wagering in the 2022 campaign. However, there is a prediction that the sports wagering proposal will fail again, as the act was attached to a two-page bill primarily aimed to define the Southeast Georgia Soap Box Derby as Georgia’s official soapbox derby.
While Senator Billy Hickman thinks that the odds of sports betting passing on its third try are great and that the bill will be a great opportunity to bring additional money into the state, others have a different opinion. Opponents of gambling believe that it is immoral, addictive, and breeds crime. Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns prefers the legalization of sports betting over a broader expansion of gambling. However, Jeanne Seaver, a Savannah Republican activist who runs Moms Against Gambling, believes that the bill is a disgrace and that Georgians don’t want any expansion of gambling, adding that legislative leaders are not listening after previous bills didn’t pass.