How Georgia could get legal sports betting without a vote

Olivia Richman Published 18/01/2026

The US state of Georgia has been attempting to legalize online sports betting for some time now, and interested parties in the state may have found a way to do so without a public vote, potentially speeding up the process if the effort is successful.

House Bill 910 aims to authorize online sports betting in Georgia under the Georgia Lottery’s oversight. The bill was first introduced in 2025 by Representative Matt Hatchet but failed to gain traction at the time. HB 910 currently sits before the House Higher Education Committee, where it was unable to get a vote last year.

However, HB 910 carries over the same structure that was previously used successfully in 2024 for a lottery-run sports betting framework that didn’t require a referendum, which leads to a public vote for or against. With the state of Georgia previously approving lotteries, HB 910 attempts to frame sports betting as a form of lottery gaming, meaning it would also not require a vote to be legalized.

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HB 910 would legalize sports betting in Georgia without vote

This time around, Hatchet’s proposal doesn’t require a constitutional amendment or statewide vote, with the argument that placing sports betting under the Georgia Lottery would make that step entirely unnecessary. This could be the quickest potential route to bringing legal online betting sites and apps to the US state of Georgia.

Some lawmakers don’t agree, stating that a referendum, and thus public voting, should be mandatory in order to legalize online sports betting and related activities in the state.

House Bill 910 states that the Georgia Lottery Corporation can issue up to 18 Type 1 licenses to approved operators that want to offer sports betting in the state. Interested operators would have to provide the state with a $100,000 nonrefundable application fee and then pay an annual licensing cost of $1.5 million once approved. The bill also states that there would be a 25% tax on adjusted gross wagering revenue.

Even if it were to be approved, HB 910 would not make online casinos legal in the state of Georgia, instead focusing specifically on sports betting.

In many US states, local players rely on sweepstakes sportsbooks for such activities in lieu of local regulated options, as they tend to skirt around laws against traditional sports betting practices. Others pursue unregulated offshore betting platforms, causing the state to lose out on potential tax revenues.

Georgia continues fight to legalize sports betting

House Bill 910 is the latest in a long list of bills that have been passed around in Georgia as the state continues to fight for legal sports betting. Most recently, the Georgia Senate Study Committee attempted to speed up the process of legalizing sports betting in August 2025, inspired by the increased revenues in other US states with legal and regulated sports betting.

With Georgia wanting to be a top destination for tourism in the United States, legalizing sports betting could significantly push the state in that direction. The increased revenue could be used for tourism-focused initiatives, but the bill had to be approved by the state’s governor at the time.

Unfortunately, those efforts were continuously stalled, never reaching the State Senate floor due to backlash from others in the state government. Representative Marcus Wiedower, a proponent of legalizing sports betting, resigned in October 2025, adding further to these delays.

Hopefully for sports betting supporters, HB 910 can speed up the process in 2026.

[Featured image: Robert M. Craig]

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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