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Georgia sports betting is not legal — so don’t get with any ideas. However, that hasn’t stopped analysts from thinking “what if” with the state. We’re about to share some recent commentary from an industry thought leader about the potential size of Georgia’s sports betting market if and when things change from a legal standpoint so keep on reading.
Georgia Could Bank Over $200 Million From Betting Taxes
Chris Altruda is a sports betting reporter, primarily covering the Midwest states — Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana. However, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have opinions about other states in his duties for Better Collective. He recently opined about The Peach State, Georgia’s nickname for those not in the know, and his predictions even surprised us.
Alteuda guestimmated Georgia’s sports betting potential on a number of factors. The first is performance by other states — notably Ohio and nearby North Carolina, which is the latest place to legalize. Both marks have overperformed when it comes to “hold” — this is the number that represents what percentage of betting money sportsbooks actually keep.
The industry norm is around 7 percent or so. However, both these states have well overperformed in the category. In all of 2023, Ohio impresses with an average hold of 12.2 percent. North Carolina’s hold was 13.1 percent in March and April, and they barely launched in 2024.
Alteuda sees that as a good sign for Georgia, and the marketplace at large. He believes operators are getting more savvy with their promotions. Over and over again, sportsbooks are steering bettors toward parlay betting — which has the odds stacked most against players. Operators routinely have holds over 20 percent in parlays alone so yes, it’s where the big money is made.
So that’s one metric and trend Altrueda used, but the other is a 25 percent tax rate. That number comes from the proposed SB386 bill that was being peddled around Georgia this year which had taxes at that number. It’s a higher tax rate than the aforementioned states or Ohio (only 20 percent) and North Carolina (18 percent). So Georgia comes in a tad better here.
“The 25% tax rate proposed in SB386 – without allowing operators to deduct promotional revenue – would give Georgia a notable windfall in tax revenue, even if operator performance does not match Ohio or North Carolina,” Altruda said.
Combining both numbers, Altrueda predicts $212.8 million in tax money over 12-month span. That’s a killer number that even surprised us. But honestly, Altrueda’s math checks out once you consider Georgia’s population is at 11 million. Moreover, they’d have a free market that included a dozen or so operators, thus promotions would be fierce and really jack up that first-year number.
Georgia Sports Craze Can Only Mean Big Numbers
Georgia is one of 12 states yet to legalize betting in the United States. It’s surprising and not surprising at the same time. Not surprising because about half of the states yet to legalize are in the Deep South right next to Georgia. But it’s surprising because as of late, Georgia has turned “blue” and more Democratic than their southern counterparts that are still deep red states.
Of the states yet to legalize, Georgia has the most potential besides the obvious states like California and Texas, which have massive populations. But Georgia is right after them because of its own size, but also given its obsessive relationship with sports.
Atlanta is a major sports city that houses the Falcons (NFL), Hawks (NBA), Braves (MLB) and the Bulldogs (NCAA). Funny enough, it’s probably the Bulldogs that have the strongest fanbase, especially in college football where they’ve won two national titles in recent memory.
But that love for football is exactly why sports betting would be big business in Georgia. You see, football commands way more betting activity than any other sport in America — and there is no close second. Georgia with two big-time football programs, the Dawgs and Falcons, could really boost those betting numbers.
Heck, Altruda even tossed around the idea of launching sports betting in Georgia around the August timeframe. Doing so would create massive momentum toward football season.
“Given the month-long runway during which operators would create a customer database with their various promotional offers, it would not be surprising if total sports betting handle for September reached $800 million when including promotional spend,” Altruda said.
All this is to say Georgia is a sleeping giant when it comes to sports betting. The opportunity is massive, and you have to think Georgia lawmakers know it too. That’s why we’re optimistic Georgia could be in line to legalize in 2025, but there’s still work to do before that.
For now, Georgia bettors could resort to betting on offshore sportsbooks. These sites work perfectly fine inside state borders because, well, they’re offshore and don’t have to abide by U.S. regulations.
If you need a reliable AND trustworthy offshore sportsbook, we recommend starting with one of the sites listed below. These are the “best of the best” in our reviews and will offer all the Georgia-based betting odds you’ll need this coming football season.
