In three meetings held this fall, a joint House and Senate study committee, called “Preservation of the HOPE Scholarship Program,” heard testimony about expanding gambling in Georgia to cover the financially struggling Hope Scholarship program. Currently gambling in the state is limited to a state-run lottery.
Committee Chairman state Rep. Matt Ramsey said rather than making specific recommendations, the group will provide a report to lawmakers who will reconvene on January 11 and consider House Bill 677. The measure calls for up to six casinos, including two in Atlanta plus Columbus, Macon, Savannah and South Georgia. The legislation also would allow up to three racetracks and up to 15 satellite betting sites statewide. If the bill passes the legislature, it would require voter approval in a statewide referendum.
To qualify for a license, investors would have to put up a minimum of $1 billion for the larger Atlanta casino and $200 million each for the others. Currently the proposal requires casinos to pay a tax rate of 12 percent, but the bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Ron Stephens, said, “Somewhere between 12 percent and 25 percent is the right number.” Governor Nathan Deal has said the casino tax rate would have to be between 24 percent – 35 percent to make him change his anti-gambling position.
Proceeds from casinos and racetracks would help prop up the Hope Scholarship and early childhood Pre-K classes. Both of these programs are struggling despite record profits from the state lottery which funds them. “There’s just no way for those lines — revenue and expenditure — to be compatible with each other,” said state Rep. Calvin Smyre. One forecast indicated gambling tax revenue could raise $280 million annually and parimutuel betting could generate $21 million.
Meanwhile gambling interests are lining up lobbyists in advance of the upcoming legislative session. MGM Resorts International, which is interested in a $1 billion destination casino resort in downtown Atlanta, has lined up 14 lobbyists. Both Boyd Gaming Corporation, which operates 22 casinos in eight states, including Louisiana and Mississippi, and Penn National Gaming, which runs 27 casinos, including several in Mississippi, have three registered lobbyists.
The issue has plenty of opposition. For example, the conservative group, Faith and Freedom Coalition, recently mailed voters in study committee members’ districts a flyer bannered “Stop the casino rip-off!” with the warning that gambling will lead to crime, corruption and addiction. Coalition member Virginia Galloway said, “I think there’s a lot of misinformation that could come out from supporters with large budgets.”
