Ga Casino Bill 2021
Posted on: January 25, 2021, 03:20h.
Bill Text: SB2: Allowing the preprocessing of absentee ballots for certain 2021 elections and allowing for the postponement of annual town meetings in calendar year 2021 where concerns exist during the COVID-19 health emergency. Bill Text: HB68: Relative to the definition of child abuse. Bill Text: HB220: Establishing medical freedom in. A Savannah Republican lawmaker is again pushing legislation that would ask Georgia voters if they believe casino gambling should be allowed in the state. House Tourism and Economic Development Chairman Ron Stephens, R-Savannah, filed House Resolution 30 on Tuesday, which would put a question on the 2022 ballot asking Georgia voters if they support allowing casinos in Georgia. Republicans chafed openly Thursday over Democrats’ go-it-alone strategy on President Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill, warning they might come to regret it, even as Democrats. Georgia casino bill to receive committee vote next week. February 18, 2017. Latest Casino and Gambling News. January 27, 2021.
Brandon Beach on Wednesday filed a bill that would establish a Georgia Horse Racing Commission to license up to three racetracks in the state. Rep.Ron Stephens on Tuesday filed another one that would put a question on an upcoming ballot asking Georgia voters whether they support allowing casinos in the state.
Last updated on: January 25, 2021, 03:39h.
As promised, a Georgia legislator filed a bill this month at the Capitol in Atlanta to allow sports betting in the Peach State.
A measure by Rep. Ron Stephens (R) would put the Georgia Lottery in charge of managing online sports wagering in the state, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Proceeds would go to the HOPE scholarship.
By placing sports betting in the Georgia Lottery’s hands, Stephens’ legislation, House Bill 86, would not require an amendment to the state constitution. Stephens, who is from Savannah, is chairman of the House Tourism and Economic Development Committee.
Under the bill, the companies providing sports betting services would pay a 16 percent tax on revenue. Gamblers placing bets would have to be 21-years-old and within the state when wagering, the newspaper reported.
Stephens anticipates sports betting would generate $100 million in tax revenue. He has estimated illegal sports wagering in Georgia is a $1.5 billion industry.
Opponents Cite Social Costs
Stephens’ sports betting proposal has the support of the Georgia Professional Sports Integrity Alliance. This is a coalition of four professional sports teams in Atlanta. The teams are the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Hawks, and Atlanta United.
Ga Casino Bill 2019
Derek Schiller, the Braves’ president and CEO, said the city’s four franchises would not receive revenue from sports wagering. The Braves are the city’s Major League Baseball team, competing in the National League.
This is good for our fans, we think, from a fan engagement perspective,” he told the newspaper. “But it’s also good for the state, because it drives new tax revenue to the state, especially in this unique time that we’re in and going to be recovering from.”
Those who oppose the bill say gambling comes with social costs, such as crime and broken families.
Georgia Faith and Freedom Coalition lobbyist Virginia Galloway told the newspaper it is bad policy to argue that gambling income will help the HOPE scholarship program.
“Gambling always costs more than it brings in,” she told the newspaper.
Casino Gambling’s Next Step
Ga Casino Bill 2021 Dates
In addition to sport betting, Stephens wants casino gambling and horse racing to be allowed in Georgia. These changes would require an amendment to the state constitution.
A constitutional amendment requires two-thirds approval in both legislative chambers and passage in a public vote. A bill only needs support from a majority of lawmakers in both chambers before going to the governor
Ga Casino Bill 2021 Date
Stephens told the newspaper he introduced the sports betting bill first because that proposal is “the path of least resistance.”
“Then, hopefully, it would build the momentum to get the other ones through,” he said.
Ga Casino Bill 2021 Schedule
The path for the sports wagering bill still might be rocky. The newspaper’s Legislative Navigator site gives it a 25 percent chance of passage.
Georgia is not the only Southern state addressing sports betting this year. In Louisiana, voters last November approved sports wagering in a majority of the state’s parishes. Lawmakers will meet in April at the Capitol in Baton Rouge to decide several issues before legal sports betting is allowed. One topic still to be decided is whether to permit mobile sports wagering or only in-person betting at sportsbooks inside casinos.