Long odds as Georgia lawmakers try again on sports gambling

ATLANTA (AP) - Some Georgia lawmakers want to test the odds one more time on sports gambling this year.

The Senate Special Judiciary Committee voted Friday to amend House Bill 903 to allow online sports betting platforms such as DraftKings and FanDuel to be offered in Georgia under the umbrella of the state lottery. The committee includes only Democrats, making its prospects even more unclear as it moves to the Republican-controlled full Senate.

State Sen. Burt Jones, a Republican from Jackson, told committee members Friday that legalization could bring in an additional $60 million yearly under a “conservative” estimate.

Money from the lottery is spent on the state’s Hope Scholarship program that helps pay for some students to go to college and is also spent to subsidize preschool classes across the state. That means it couldn’t go to alleviate Georgia’s $2.6 billion budget shortfall for the coming year. However, Jones argued that growing costs for preschool and college scholarship programs could outstrip slowing lottery revenue growth over the long term, saying it’s on an “unsustainable” trajectory.

“The only way to keep that program viable for years to come is to do one of two things - cut cost or find ways to generate more revenue dollars,” Jones said.

Lawmakers earlier this year considered plans to legalize casinos, horse racing and sports betting. Most of those plans came in the form of constitutional amendments. Jones, though, argued Friday that because Georgia voters had already changed the state constitution to allow a lottery, no amendment was needed if sports betting is tucked under the lottery. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that additional states could legalize sports betting. So far, nearly 20 states have.

In March, a lawyer for the General Assembly said there are arguments on both sides about legalizing sports betting, but said lawmakers would avoid a long legal struggle by putting the question to voters. That would require a two-thirds vote of both houses before voters got their say in a referendum.

The state lottery would issue licenses to vendors. People could bet from their phones anywhere in the state, although the bill limits bettors to those 21 and older. Jones noted that the lottery already offers an abundant choice of online gambling games.

The measure is being backed by Atlanta’s major professional sports teams, including the Falcons, Braves, Hawks and Atlanta United.

The bill had originally dealt with motor vehicle citations, but lawmakers often add unrelated material into a measure in the last days of a session, seeking a bill that’s still alive to advance ideas that would otherwise fail.

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Follow Jeff Amy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jeffamy.