After a harried week of late nights, hopes for legal sports betting in Georgia died late on March 6 without action by the house, reports iGB.
To a round of applause, Georgia General Assembly Speaker Jon Burns called the session to an end about an hour before the 11:59 p.m. local legislative deadline on crossover day. A package of sports betting bills — a constitutional amendment and a framework bill — weren’t among those called for a vote.
A Senate committee previously deferred its package of wagering bills. Because the issue didn’t get sent from one chamber to the other, it is dead for the 2025 session.
The House framework bill, HB 686, was approved for a possible floor vote during the rules committee’s third meeting March 6. HR 450 was approved during the committee’s fourth meeting. Both were among a flurry of bills lawmakers were trying to rush to the floor to beat the deadline for passage.
Neither wagering bill was called for a vote during the evening floor session, and both would have had to pass for the issue to have a chance of reaching voters. The proposals were filed just a week ago.
An amended version of the framework bill passed through the higher education committee Wednesday. That committee agreed to increase the proposed tax rate to 24 percent from 20 percent in the original bill. The committee voted down an amendment, meanwhile, that would have allowed for legal igaming.
The package of bills would have legalized only digital sports betting. HR 450 would have put a referendum on the November 2026 ballot for voters to decide whether to approve the new gambling. HB 686 would have created an open, competitive marketplace with the Georgia Lottery Corporation as the regulator.
Georgia’s professional sports teams plus Augusta National Golf Club, Atlanta Speedway and the PGA Tour were named as eligible for licenses. In addition, seven stand-alone licences would have been available. The lottery also would have been able to have a digital betting platform.
