Could 2027 be Georgia’s year for legalized gambling?
Under Republican leadership, Georgia has repeatedly and unsuccessfully tried to legalize sports betting and gambling. That logjam could break next year as Democratic Gov.-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms wants to legalize casino gambling to generate new revenue for early childhood education.
Bottoms has said casino gambling could generate up to $500 million a year to help expand pre-kindergarten access and “the broader early learning pipeline.” With backing from the governor, the odds might be better than previous years in the state Legislature.
Still, passing such a measure through both chambers is a daunting task.
Democrats will hold a minuscule majority in the House. Republicans hold a similarly narrow edge in the Senate. And while most bills in the Legislature require a majority vote, legalizing gaming would require a constitutional amendment — supported by a two-thirds’ vote from each legislative chamber to place it on the ballot. Then Georgians would vote on whether to add it to the state constitution.
“With the numbers of both the House and the Senate, one party can’t pass nothing,” said state Rep. Alan Powell, R-Hartwell, who has long advocated for sports betting and other forms of gambling. However, he says it’s ultimately up to Georgians to decide.
Previous debates over the scope of legislation — where revenue generated from gambling should be allocated and how the industry would be regulated — have proved to be powerful roadblocks.
And unlike some of Bottoms’ other priorities, gambling doesn’t split cleanly along party lines. A measure introduced during this year’s legislative session to allow online sports betting failed by a wide margin. A Republican proposal in the Senate that would have allowed for sports betting and casino gambling never made it out of committee.
As a result, Georgia is among the most populous states that ban sports betting and casino gambling. The change in leadership at the Capitol doesn’t mean that will change.
Even if every Democrat voted in favor of such a measure in the House, they would still need votes from Republicans. Democrats, who will be in the minority in the Senate, need an even greater share of GOP support.
There are other headaches. While supporters view gambling as a source for new tax revenue, how that revenue would be spent has been another fault line.
“I would vote to put it on if it goes to healthcare, something that benefits everybody,” Powell said.
Opponents of gambling expansion, including conservative groups and religious organizations, see wagering as immoral and addictive. Long against gambling, Mike Griffin, a lobbyist with the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, said he believes it will lead to higher rates of bankruptcy, crime and job loss and was skeptical that the narrowly divided Legislature would find agreement on such a difficult issue.
With the rise of mobile betting and prediction markets, most people can already wager on elections, sports and even the timing of military operations. For Griffin, legalization would “be like pouring gasoline on a dumpster fire.”
Legalization efforts require focus, said Democratic Lt. Gov.-elect Josh McLaurin.
“These conversations have all gotten mixed together in years past, and I think some of the advocates for one type of gambling have found themselves running into advocates for other types, and because the process was not directed toward one or two specific types, I think that’s why you saw the conversation break down, largely,” he said.
Legalization of casino gambling, or as McLaurin calls it, “destination gambling,” would be much safer than legalizing a form of mobile wagering.
“Anybody … can bet from their phone. It runs the risk of depleting personal savings and fostering addiction a lot more readily than when you have to leave the house and go somewhere,” he said.
Some hopefuls are already rolling the dice. Earlier this year, a casino company secured a $20 million option to buy a shuttered JCPenney in Macon in hopes that state lawmakers will approve casino gambling.
Rick Lackey, a commercial real estate executive and proponent of expanding access to casino gambling, estimated the state could handle as many as nine casinos. He also pointed to other downstream benefits of casinos, such as jobs and other forms of tax revenue he expects such destinations to bring in.
Metro Atlanta Chamber CEO Katie Kirkpatrick raised concerns about bringing a resort-style casino to the capital and how it could detrimentally impact the arts and entertainment scene the chamber has sought to preserve.
“While a casino may work well in other communities outside of Atlanta, I think in order to maximize revenue here, they would be wanting to bring in acts,” she said.
That kind of development could hurt established institutions in the city, like the Fox Theatre, she said.
“We are not missing out by not having a destination resort here,” Kirkpatrick added.
Senior Politics Editor Chris Joyner contributed to this report.