The Georgia House adjourned Thursday night without bringing two sports betting bills up for a vote, putting the issue on ice for another year.
Thursday was the crossover deadline for bills to advance past their chamber of origin. Ultimately, however, it might not alter a potential timeline to legal Georgia sports betting.
The constitutional amendment to legalize sports betting requires a public vote, which would be in November 2026, so sportsbooks would not have launched until at least 2027. The legislature will likely discuss the legislation again next year, which could keep that timeline intact.
Georgia sports betting journey
Rep. Marcus Wiedower introduced his sports betting package last week. The legislation included the constitutional amendment as well as enacting legislation.
A House committee passed the bill Wednesday, keeping hopes alive that the full chamber might consider it before the crucial deadline.
It came after a Senate committee did not advance a similar package of legislation forward this month. However, there was hope it was to allow the House to take the lead with legislation it preferred.
A similar set of bills passed the Senate last year before falling apart in the House.
Sportsbook industry setup
House Resolution 450 simply would have allowed Peach State voters to express their opinions on the constitutional amendment allowing online sports betting.
Wiedower’s House Bill 686 set up the industry if they approved it. The bill would have allowed for 16 licenses and set the tax rate at 24%.
The House package did not include casinos, like the Senate proposal.
Georgia bettors want legal sports betting
Several legislative proponents came into session expressing their disappointment in the lack of legalization. Gov. Brian Kemp remained neutral on the issue but did express he sees positives in a regulated market.
That came as a University of Georgia poll found 63% of voters in favor of sports betting.
Likewise, GeoComply found a 101% year-over-year increase in accounts trying to access legal sportsbooks from within Georgia during the NFL season. The 297,239 accounts tried to log into sportsbooks 3.7 million times.
