Georgia is one of just six states with no legalized gambling except for the state lottery. However, the pro-racino Georgia Horse Racing Coalition group released a study indicating a $525 million development with a 300-room hotel and a horse racetrack with parimutuel betting, live gaming and a slot machine area would have an annual economic impact of $1.2 billion, and would boost the agricultural and tourism industries and provide new revenue for health care, education and rural development programs. The group hopes state lawmakers will consider legislation approving the facility for the 2019 legislative session.
Prepared by the Florida-based Lewis Group Management Consultants, the study also said the racino complex would create 4,000 construction jobs and 2,225 permanent jobs, generate $210 million in state and local taxes in the first year and bring new revenue into race purses and breeding programs.
State Rep. Brett Harrell indicated he will present the study to the House Rural Development Council after the current session ends later this month. He said he’ll work with state Senator Brandon Beach, who for years has attempted to bring gambling to Georgia, to introduce a bill in the 2019 legislative session allowing three venues in the state.
Harrell said, “A horseracing facility would create thousands of jobs, deliver tens of millions in new state and local tax dollars and bring new revenues and business development to rural Georgia through its equine industry. As legislators we’re constantly looking for new ways to fund the demand for HOPE scholarships, which covers less and less of tuition costs, and horseracing allows us to do it in a way that fits well with what Georgia has to offer.”
Beach stated the Lewis Group report “gives lawmakers a clear vision of what a horseracing facility would contribute to Georgia. We’ll work to pass legislation that enables a horseracing track in Georgia that is one of the nicest in the world.”
Georgia Horse Racing Coalition President Dean Reeves said, “Allowing for horseracing will stimulate Georgia’s equine industry, which is an important part of the agricultural sector but currently isn’t growing. We know from experiences in other states that these facilities lead to new jobs and growth in the equine industry as well as the profitable preservation of undeveloped rural lands. Our industry wants to be a part of a solution that gives rural Georgia an economic boost while also providing for the pressing revenue needs of the state as a whole.”
