Political Unrest In Georgia Could Delay Sports Betting Legislation

• A sports betting law scheduled for a vote in the Georgia House of Representatives was delayed this past week due to disagreements with the fairness of the voting process.
• Georgia is looking to bring legal sports betting to the state in 2021, but needs support from both sides of the aisle to do so.

ATLANTA – The battle for legal sports betting across the United States continues, this time in the state of Georgia.

Georgia lawmakers are looking to bring in a form of sports betting revenue following the success of such systems in states like Tennessee.

A bill proposed by Republican Representative Ron Stephens was scheduled for a vote last week in Atlanta before being set aside before any vote could occur.

The bill initially passed through the GA House Panel without much interference, leading many to think it would be met with positive reception on the House floor.

Instead, democratic members of the House have pulled their support of the bill due to an ongoing dispute over voting and election bills. This is a common theme seen across the US as many states deal with the possibilities of legal gambling.

The democrats believe that the current voting and election standards in the GA are unfair to black and minority voters.

The democrats believe that any republican-supported bill would be unfairly skewered against minority voters, as to support such bills would be detrimental to their larger goals at this time.

This is an ongoing issue in the state of Georgia that reached a peak during the presidential election of 2020. Lawmakers on both sides felt that the election was mishandled in the state and are still attempting to pass legislation to correct it, one way or the other.

Bishop Reginald Jackson believes that approving any Republican-backed bill would be a step in the wrong direction for the state.

“If they’re going to try to hurt us at the ballot box, then we need to hurt them with this legislation and not support it,” Jackson said.

The bill proposed by Stephens would put the Georgia Lottery Corporation in charge of the sports betting systems in GA. Tax revenue from  legal sports betting would go to benefit the state’s HOPE scholarship program, which benefits promising students looking to attend college.

In order for the bill to pass, it would need bipartisan support. There are Republican members who do not support the bill due to issues with the morals of sports betting.

In order for Georgia to make progress on this and bring legal sports betting into the fold, they will first have to settle some larger issues in the state.