A Georgia House committee tasked with studying the potential legalization of gaming and evaluating economic and tax impacts to the state will hold its first meeting Monday in Oconee County. The committee was created by House Resolution 753, and will be chaired by Rep. Marcus Weidower, R-Watkinsville.
Wiedower introduced a measure during this year’s session of the General Assembly that would have put legalized sports betting before voters in November 2026 but it never made it off the House floor. The bill would not have approved casinos or other brick-and-mortar gambling.
This has been a hot topic for Georgia lawmakers the past few years. Weidower’s legislation last year had steep opposition from several groups including the Georgia Baptist Mission Board and the Georgia Faith and Freedom Coalition.
Members of the study committee plan to begin their work by clearly defining what constitutes “gaming” and “gambling,” and how those definitions apply to various activities. The committee will study how legalization of gaming in this state, if approved by the people and enabled by the General Assembly, would contribute to the economy and workforce development of this state as to revenue expectations and quality of jobs being available when weighed against what social and societal ills may come to Georgia if gaming is approved by the citizens of this state, as well as determine if the legalization of gaming would also increase tax revenues for Georgia and aid in meeting the budgetary demands of government.
All of this will be weighed against “against what social and societal ills may come to Georgia if gaming is approved by the citizens of this state,” according to information released by House leadership.
Legislation creating the study committee says: “The financial implications for the state of such potential legalization as well as previously considered measures by the General Assembly to improve Georgia’s economy deserve to be further considered and studied along with the social, fiscal, and economic impacts and the financial viability of such endeavors.”
Sports betting is legal in 39 states and the District of Columbia, according to the American Gaming Association. Tennessee and Florida allow sports betting.
The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. and will be held at the Oconee County Administrative Building, 7635 Macon Highway in Watkinsville.
