A plan filed in Georgia on Tuesday would legalize casino gambling and sports betting in one fell swoop, leaving voters to decide.
Senate Resolution 131 is the brainchild of four Republican state senators: Carden Summers, Billy Hickman, Brandon Beach, and Lee Anderson.
The bill would change the state constitution to allow for substantial gaming growth across the state, including land-based casinos, iGaming, and digital sports betting. A similar initiative by the same lawmakers last year failed to gain traction.
According to the broad framework filed on February 4, a newly created gaming commission would award at least eight casino gaming licenses, each with one skin.
Online sports betting and casinos would be taxed at 20%, with the proceeds going into a specially designated Georgia Gaming Proceeds Fund.
The initial $2 billion in the fund would be divided among the governing bodies of each Georgia county, as would any future incremental earnings until a total county payment of at least $5 billion is attained.
At least 5% of the remaining revenues would be allocated to gambling health and addiction programs and services.
The draft resolution has only recently been filed for introduction, so there is a long way to go. If it gains pace and eventually passes, Georgia voters will decide the fate of internet gambling in the Peach State.
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Same sponsors fell short in 2024
The new bill has several co-sponsors, including those who supported legislation last year that ran out of steam before the state’s 2024 legislative session concluded.
SR 131 is a revision of SR 538, which had all of Summers, Hickman, Beach, and Anderson as co-sponsors.
That plan would have authorized casino gambling and sports betting, but with some major differences: the minimum number of licenses would have been five, not eight, and the tax rate would have been 13% lower than this year’s proposal. The provision in the 2025 law to create a dedicated gambling revenue fund is likewise a novel measure.
Other measures perished last year
Senate Bill 386 and its sister measure, SR 579, failed to clear the House Rules Committee in March after passing the Senate and receiving approval from the House Higher Education Committee. These legislation proposed issuing up to 16 sports betting licenses and taxing wagering at 20%, however that amount was raised to 25% by an amendment.
Beach was a co-sponsor of SR 579 in 2024, alongside Senator Bill Cowsert. Last year, Hickman sponsored Senate Bill 386. That measure would have altered the existing Georgia Lottery for Education Act to allow the lottery to regulate sports betting. The bill cleared the Senate but was blocked in the House.
Another failed proposal in 2024, Sen. Cowsert’s SB 172, would have allowed both online and retail wagering via a constitutional amendment.
This is the seventh consecutive year that Georgia lawmakers have attempted to expand gaming.
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