Georgia voters could get a chance to legalize gambling on horse racing after a Senate committee on Wednesday passed a constitutional amendment, but the fate of the legislation remains uncertain.
The Senate Regulated Industries Committee voted to approve Senate Resolution 131, but did not act on the accompanying Senate Bill 212 that would allow up to five horse racing tracks with gambling anywhere in the state. Committee Chairman Bill Cowsert, an Athens Republican, pledged a vote on the accompanying bill in coming days.
Some Georgia lawmakers typically attempt to expand gambling every year in the General Assembly, but none have been successful since voters approved a state lottery in 1992. The House has been less friendly to expansion efforts in recent years, but House Speaker David Ralston gave proponents new hope in January when he said “there is an appetite this session that I hadn’t seen before to do something,” suggesting proponents should focus on a constitutional amendment and leave until later the details of whether the state will legalize casinos, sports betting or horse-race betting.
Read this story for free
To continue reading, sign up for our newsletters and get unlimited access to WABE.org
We won't share your information with outside organizations Why am I seeing this?
