Georgia Wants In On Legal Gambling (Again)

Oh, Georgia. For the gazillion time, they are considering legal sports and casino betting. We’ve done this song and dance before haven’t we? We have.

But is there anything different about a push in 2025? Well, we’re about to find out. Keep reading and we’ll tell you EXACTLY what’s going on in the Peach State!

Senate Revives Issue Of Legal Gambling

On the sports betting side, Georgia is one of only 11 states without a legal betting market. That’s a bit surprising since Georgia has shed some of its red-blooded reputation in favor of “progressivism” as of late — but that hasn’t carried over to the gambling side. Well, not yet at least.

However, four Republican state senators are trying to change that. Earlier this month, Carden Summers, Billy Hickman, Brandon Beach, and Lee Anderson introduced Senate Resolution 131 (SR 131). This proposal aims to amend Georgia’s constitution to allow sports betting AND casino operations.

SR 131 is multi-faceted. One of its key components is the creation of a Georgia Gaming Commission, which would oversee regulation and taxation. This is on par with most other legal states The resolution also proposes issuing at least eight casino gaming licenses, each covering both land-based and online operations. A 20% tax rate on adjusted gross income from gaming activities is being suggested, with the first $2 billion in tax revenue distributed equally among Georgia’s counties. Once $5 billion in revenue is reached, at least 5 percent of any additional proceeds would fund programs focused on gambling addiction prevention and treatment.

For SR 131 to move forward, it must pass with a two-thirds majority in both the Georgia House and Senate. If successful, voters will have the final say through a statewide referendum, potentially on the November 2026 ballot during midterms. But there lies the issue. Part of the internal debate — that’s stifled progress on these types of bills before — is whether the issue needs a constitutional amendment (which is what’s being proposed here) or if legislation alone could do the trick.

Honestly, we have no dog in this fight. All we know is this now marks the seventh year in a row that Georgia has attempted to legalize sports betting in some shape or form. What makes 2025 any different? Perhaps two things, which we’ll cover next.

Public Support For Betting Is Growing

For the longest time, Georgia voters were on the fence about legal betting. Politicians — as the voices of these constituents — could rightfully say “the people don’t want it.” That’s would’ve been accurate most of these years, but it no longer is. Multiple data points have shown Georgia voters are breaking for legal betting.

The first is a January 2025 poll by the University of Georgia and the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. Results showed that 63 percent of voters support legalized sports betting with 72.9 percent of men in favor compared to 54.2 percent of women. Opposition remains relatively low at just under 24 percent against legalization. Support is strongest among the 30-44 age group, where a whopping 75.4 percent back legalization. Interestingly, support crosses party lines, with about 65% of both Republicans and Democrats in favor.

But then there’s Governor Brian Kemp. He didn’t necessarily support legal betting, but he sure didn’t oppose it either. At a recent ribbon-cutting ceremony for PrizePicks’ new headquarters in Atlanta, Kemp emphasized his neutral stance on legalizing Georgia sports betting but that he believes it could help the state financially

“My position has been very clear on gaming. That being said, the legislature, especially, if they’re trying to do a constitutional amendment, it doesn’t really matter what I think,” Kemp said. “My whole thing is if they’re going to do something like that we need to make sure it does not cannibalize the lottery and HOPE scholarship.”

The state of Georgia has two aces up its sleeve with the governor and voters at-large. There’s another ace though that makes Georgia’s hand a straight — that’s a poker reference for you non-bettors reading this.

Georgia Missing Out On Huge Tax Gains

Last but not least, this is a money problem — which always matters in politics. We mean, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out Georgia is missing out on significant tax revenue from not legalizing, especially as neighboring states like Tennessee and North Carolina rake in millions from it. It’s hard not to give them a side eye and wonder what that type of money could do locally (Georgia has a bigger population and economy too).

But here’s a fun question to ponder: just how much money is Georgia missing out on? It might be good to bring in data from GeoComply to help paint that picture. GeoComply provides geotargeting data for top betting apps.

According to a recent GeoComply report, Georgians tried to log in 3.7 million times to legal sportsbooks during the NFL season. More than just pure login attempts, it’s come from 297,239 accounts — a 101% year-over-year jump.

All this is just more evidence of how much betting interest there is among Georgians. Whether lawmakers act on this or continue to debate over constitutional amendment or not will be seen during the remainder of the legislative year.