(Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgians may have the chance to vote on sports betting authorization in November after senators approved an amendment to the state constitution on Tuesday.
This is a big step forward for Georgians who want to be able to bet on professional and college sports after years of obstruction in the Senate. However, the bill still has a long way to go and would need two-thirds approval in the state Legislature before it can be brought to a vote.
The Senate passed Senate Resolution 579 by a vote of 41-12. The resolution would allocate 80% of the taxes from sports betting to the kindergarten program and, once the kindergarten program is fully funded, to college scholarships. Another 15% of the proceeds will go toward helping people with gambling problems, and the remaining 5% will establish a fund for the state of Georgia to recruit and fund major sporting events.
Some advocates are seeking to legalize sports betting as part of the state lottery without a constitutional amendment. But Republican Sen. Bill Cowsert of Athens insists he doesn't believe Georgia voters were approving sports betting when they approved the lottery in 1992, giving voters a say. I've been saying for a long time that I want it.
“I think that's the politically correct thing to do when you make this kind of major policy shift in our state,” Cowsert said. “This is to give voters an opportunity to have their say on this issue.”
Tyrone Republican senator Marty Harbin said it was a mistake to put sports betting on the ballot, warning it was a destructive and addictive form of gambling.
“The people who vote for a constitutional amendment will not have the knowledge and information that you and I have,” Harbin said.
He said the more than $100 million a year in taxes that sports betting could cause is not worth the trouble it would cause, especially with Georgia's current deep budget.
“We have the money,” Harbin said. “We have the best state to do business in. We have a prosperous state.”
The bill passed with relatively little debate after the Senate passed a bill earlier this year that would establish the structure for sports betting as long as a constitutional amendment passes. However, the bill received only 34 votes, leaving doubts as to whether the amendments could pass the required two-thirds threshold in the Senate.
Nationwide, 38 states allow sports betting. Some states only allow in-person betting, but most allow electronic betting from anywhere. Under Georgia's previous bill, 20% of the proceeds would have been collected in taxes after winnings were paid out to gamblers. Nationally, tax rates are set from 6.75% in Iowa to 51% in Rhode Island and New York.
But lawmakers continue to maneuver around gambling, and supporters of casino and horse racing betting are trying to link it to sports betting to further their cause. For example, Sen. Caden Summers, a Cordele Republican, told fellow senators on Tuesday that lawmakers should give voters the opportunity to remove all gambling prohibitions from the state constitution, not just a ban on sports betting. insisted. That would pave the way for Summers' preferred casinos.
This maneuver, along with the reluctance of Democrats to provide the necessary votes in the face of moral objections to gambling by some Republicans, undermined previous efforts.
Senate Minority Whip Gloria Butler, D-Stone Mountain, said she agreed to follow the plan this time around in part because her party has prioritized funding for preschool. For example, Butler said she would like to see the state expand the program to include more 3-year-olds in addition to 4-year-olds.
“Why not start at age 3?” Butler asked.
