Last night, Georgia decided it wasn't interested in legalizing sports gambling. A constitutional amendment to send the debate to Georgians just fizzled out in the state legislature when the topic simply never came to a vote.
Thursday was the deadline for either the State House or State Senate to vote on bumping any law to the other legislative house. Late in the evening, bills HR 450 and HB 686 broke out of a House committee but frustratingly were never called to the floor to vote, while Bill SR 131 was defeated nearly a week ago in the Senate.
That means the Peach State will not legalize sports gambling in 2025.
Georgia Waits Another Year
There was a belief that this could be the year for Georgia, which has tried to legalize sports gambling every year since PASPA was struck down in 2018. Strides were made the last time, only to fall apart at the last second when a constitutional amendment was added at the 11th hour.
Lessons were learned from previously failed attempts with HR 450 and HB 686 from representative Marcus Wiedower, accepting that sports gambling was a constitutional issue by putting that into the legislation. Yet, that still wasn't enough to have the Bills adopted easily.
Other aspects of Wiedower's bills would tax sportsbooks' gross revenues at 24%. Those tax revenues would go to HOPE scholarships, which cover a portion of tuition for HOPE-eligible colleges and universities, and pre-K services. The Bills also allowed for 16 licenses to be given to pro sports teams, a few to golf courses, and seven to be open for public bidding.
No reason was given by House Speaker Jon Burns for not calling on the Bills in this session.
Is It Truly Over?
While both of Wiedower's bills were voted down for the 2025 session, the sports gambling cause could still be picked up for the 2026 session. The Georgian Legislative session meets in early 2025 to enact legislation for the year and in late 2025 to vote on laws for the next year.
After the disappointment with legislation dying on the floor, Representative Chuck Martin stated about pushing to legalize it in 2026, saying: "We'll keep working with people and trying to do what's in the best interest of the state."
Fingers are crossed in the Peach State that their lawmakers can finally come to an agreement soon.
Today's Matchups
Related News
