The ability to legally place a bet in Georgia on an Atlanta Falcons game and other sports competitions is gaining traction with this week’s filing of legislation endorsed by a powerful coalition of Republican and Democratic senators.
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a Butts County Republican, and Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler are banking on getting a majority of lawmakers enticed by the possibility of legalized sports betting raising millions of dollars for the state lottery’s HOPE collegiate scholarship and pre-K programs. Butler, a Stone Mountain Democrat, is one of five Democratic and seven GOP legislators who are sponsoring Senate Bill 386 that would make it legal to place online and retail sports bets in the Peach State.
Sen. Clint Dixon’s bill treats sports gambling like a lottery game in order to bypass a constitutional amendment referendum that requires support from a two-thirds majority of the Legislature and approval from Georgia voters in November. The bill is likely to be introduced at the next Senate Economic and Tourism Development Committee, which is chaired by GOP Sen. Brandon Beach, who is also one of the bill’s sponsors.
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