Georgia Senate votes down second sports betting bill

ATLANTA - The Georgia Senate once again failed to approve a bill to legalize sports betting in the state.

State Sen. Bill Cowsert, R-Athens, was the main sponsor of Senate Bill 140.  The legislation called for an amendment to the Georgia State Constitution, which means Georgia voters would have to approve a ballot referendum.  

"When you deal with this significant of a policy issue, a cultural issue, it's only fair to let the people of Georgia decide if they want it or not," said Sen. Cowsert.

If voters approved a constitutional amendment, the state would have created a gaming commission to regulate and tax sports betting.  

Sen. Cowsert estimated sports betting would generate about $50 million per year.  

Under the legislation, 50% of that money would fund needs-based scholarships for college and technical school students, 25% would fund rural healthcare, mental health and economic development initiatives, 15% to fight problem gambling, 5% to promote sports in the state and 5% to innovative education.

"Sports gambling—there's an addiction issue," said State Sen. Marty Harbin. "There's a lot of good things that we see from it, but there's also a lot of issues that are addiction."  

A constitutional amendment requires 'yes' votes from two-thirds of members to pass, and the legislation did not get the 38 votes needed in the Senate.

"I think it shows that the Georgia legislature is not ready for sports betting this year," said Sen. Cowsert after the vote. "That's the second bill that's come up.  One had a constitutional amendment. One did not. Neither had adequate votes to pass."