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United Kingdom
Summary
- Georgia legislators getting ready to push gambling legislation
- They believe the climate is right for approval in 2022
- Opposition groups continue to fight against gambling legislation
Legislators in favour of casino style gambling have pushed for gambling legislation in Georgia for the last decade but found it to be an uphill battle in what is one of the most conservative states in the country.
When most states around the country decided to legalize sports betting after the Supreme Court overruled the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) in May 2018, Georgia continued to resist all attempts to legalize sports betting and introduce casino gambling.
Pro-gambling legislators in Georgia are not going to give up on the push to legalize gambling as they prepare once again in 2022. Some of the top casino operators in the world such as Las Vegas Sands Corp. have their eye on Georgia and have hired lobbyists to campaign for legalized gambling.
There are over 50 casino lobbyists currently in Georgia working on ways to push for legalized gambling. House Speaker David Ralston has so far taken a neutral position on gambling legalization but said he thinks the climate is right in 2022 to push gambling legislation through.
Sen. Brandon Beach said since Georgia refuses to legalize sports betting and casino gambling, it has opened the doors for illegal gambling operators and bookies to offer their services as the demand for betting and casino style gambling in Georgia is not going away.
Beach thinks its high time Georgia pushes forward with gambling legislation as illegal gambling is taking place right under their noses and the state is losing out on millions of dollars in gambling taxes. He believes the HOPE scholarship will benefit greatly from legalized gambling.
Gambling Opponents Not Slowing Down
The sports betting bill in 2021 cleared the Senate but got stuck in the House. Gambling campaigners are confident they can push it through and get voters in Georgia to decide. However, anti-gambling opponents are also stepping up their efforts to shut down any attempt at legalizing gambling in the state.
The Georgia Baptist Mission Board is one of the many anti-gambling groups at the capitol urging legislators not to move forward with gambling legislation. We will have to wait for a few more months to see if Georgia will act on the push to legalize gambling or if this will be another year when the push to legalize gambling gets stalled!
