InsiderAdvantage reported on the possibility of legalized sports gambling earlier this week. Sponsor Rep. Ron Stephens’ (R-164 Savannah) bill HB 86 would tax sports betting revenue at 16% and require hefty fees from operators, all of which would go towards the HOPE Scholarship program.
The most important part of that legislation however is that HB 86 would only require a majority vote in the House and Senate to pass, according to bill writers that Stephens has worked with, who also noted sports betting is happening in Georgia already.
Stephens’ other goals, horse racing and casino gambling, would require constitutional amendments but Stephens is hoping the dollar signs resulting from sports betting would help to clear the path for those two.
Stephens does not seem to be shy about his strategy of getting the camel’s nose under the tent. “We’re putting the path of least resistance first,” Stephens told the AJC. “Then, hopefully, it would build the momentum to get the other ones through.”
Last year, the House Regulated Industries Committee voted 13-3 to approve a measure that would put the question on the November ballot. The resolution never made it to the floor for a full vote and will have to start back at square one this year.
It remains to be seen if this year’s legislation will mirror that of previous years but a constitutional amendment requires two-thirds of the legislature to pass and get on the November ballot. After that, counties would hold local referendums to allow gambling in their communities.
Stephens’ plan for the revenue generated from casino gambling and horse racing would not go towards the HOPE scholarship but instead into a new arm of the state’s rainy day fund, the general fund, and a pre-kindergarten and post-secondary education fund.
One possible hiccup for the legislation, one of Stephens’ counterparts in the Senate chamber who has been a major proponent of the gambling legislation, Sen. Brandon Beach (R-21 Alpharetta), was recently stripped of his chairmanship of the Transportation Committee and is definitely on the outs with Senate and other Gold Dome leadership. Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan stripped Beach of the role as payback for his involvement in the lawsuit alleging elections fraud in Georgia and other states, a suit that named Gov. Brian Kemp, House Speaker David Ralston and Senate President pro tem Butch Miller as defendants. Beach’s ability to help move controversial legislation through the Senate is likely handicapped a bit this session.
And the vocal opponents of gambling have not gone anywhere in the intervening years. The Faith and Freedom Coalition, several of the more conservative members of the General Assembly – such as pastor and Rep. Wes Cantrell (R-22 Woodstock), and a group called the Georgia Arts Coalition – with members such as the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, remain a powerful group of voices opposed. The Arts Coalition makes the argument that casinos use live acts as loss leaders to bring in spenders. Casinos discount tickets and overpay talent, something that would pinch local venues as they try to keep up. Many of these venues have already had a quite difficult year with the pandemic.
