In Georgia, state Senator Brandon Beach, a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, recently led a meeting of the state’s Senate Study Committee on Gambling. Beach told the group, “When the U.S. Supreme Court opened up sports betting to states besides Nevada, I thought it would be important for us to not only look at sports betting, but a holistic approach to gaming. If we’re going to look at sports betting, we should look at the whole gaming industry,” including sports betting, casino gambling and horseracing.
Beach sponsored legislation this year that would require voters to approve legislation allowing to three horseracing tracks in the state. The measure currently is stalled in committee but could be reconsidered when lawmakers return in January.
Beach said, “We already have answered the question of gambling. We have the lottery and that doesn’t create a lot of jobs. Horseracing and casinos would create thousands of jobs—hotel jobs, restaurant jobs, gaming jobs. With horseracing, it would create jobs in rural Georgia with horse farms, hay farms, breeding. That’s what I like about it. I think everything is on the table. We just need to look at what we need to do.”
Governor Brian Kemp’s recent call to cut budgets has given the topic of expanded gaming new scrutiny. Kemp has said he personally opposes gambling but would not block legislation if gambling revenue goes to the HOPE scholarship program. Such a measure would require a two-thirds majority in both legislative houses plus voter approval of a constitutional amendment. Sports betting, however, might pass with a simple majority vote in the legislature.
State Rep. Wes Cantrell, a pastor, also opposes expanded gaming in Georgia. He said the state should require the Georgia Lottery Corp. to use 35 percent of its revenue for education. He noted under state law, education programs are required to receive as close to 35 percent of lottery ticket sales revenue “as practical.” But, Cantrell said, “The long-term stability of the HOPE scholarship would not be in question if the Georgia Lottery Corp. had not been allowed to break the law consistently since 1997.”
State Rep. Ron Stephens, chairman of the House Study Committee on Gambling, questions directing gambling revenue strictly to education. “Is education the only thing that we’re going to look at? The two issues that are going to come up in this next election are education and health care,” he said.
Other legislators have suggested directing the money to the state’s general fund, or health care in rural communities.
Some rural lawmakers have noted their districts would benefit from legalizing horseracing. Alexander Waldrop, president and CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, said, “Atlanta is the largest metropolitan area in the United States without a racetrack. The Southeast is an island. You would have to build a horse industry in Georgia, and that’s part of the excitement of the project. It’s an agribusiness model. It’s not a gambling model.”
In 2017, Beach introduced a measure allowing two casinos, in Atlanta and Savannah. At the time, a study done by several consultants and academics for Central Atlanta Progress/Atlanta Downtown Economic Development District estimated a downtown Atlanta casino would generate $320 million to $400 million in annual revenue for the state.
Beach’s committee is scheduled to meet several more times and Stephens’ committee will hold its first meeting in October. Both are expected to make recommendations to the legislature by December, before it reconvenes in January.
