Could Georgia be the next US state with legal sports betting?
The path towards legal sports and online betting in Georgia may still be some ways off, but recent developments have given added real forward momentum that could see bettors playing legally in the US state sooner than expected. A Georgia Senate Study Committee has put forward a recommendation to speed up the process of legalizing sports betting for the benefit of the state in the wake of similar efforts producing major revenues for other US states.
Regulated online betting is slowly but consistently becoming the norm in the United States, with many states already having some form of legalized online gambling. While the sector still has work to do, government-regulated gambling almost certainly safer than the gray market and offshore alternatives, and that added safety combined with revenue opportunities is proving difficult for many states to resist.
The state of Georgia has been attempting to legalize sports betting, but those efforts have failed to move forward sufficiently thus far. The state’s Senate Study Committee has now taken the step of officially recommending that Georgia legalize sports betting in order to raise revenues for the state and to promote tourism.
Georgia Senate Committee says legalizing sports betting will increase tourism
The state of Georgia wants to become the number-one destination in the United States for tourism, and is exploring options including legal sports betting that could potentially help. Georgia’s Senate Study Committee has put forth recommendations for things the state can do to become a hot spot for tourists, and a late last-minute addition the committee made to those recommendations is the advice to legalize sports betting.
This recommendation aligns with trends seen in other US states where similar laws have been introduced. North Carolina, for instance, has witnessed a record collection of tax revenues since legalizing sports betting.
Legal online sports betting is on the rise across US states, with Georgia considering similar efforts.
The committee stated that legalized sports betting could bring in potential players who come to the state for big betting events. This, in turn, could bring in more money into the state of Georgia and help boost the state’s economy. The increased revenue from legal sports betting could be used for other initiatives that could bring in even more potential tourism and related revenues to Georgia.
While the committee has recommended this initiative, nothing has changed yet, and sports betting still remains illegal in Georgia. Making online betting sites legal in the state would still require new laws to be both drawn up in the state legislature and approved by the state’s governor.
Georgia has active legislation currently working to make sports betting in the state, but it has been facing many roadblocks. The state has consistently tried to introduce laws that would make online betting platforms, sports betting, and even esports betting sites legal, but they have either stalled out or failed to even reach the State Senate floor. In-state critics of these efforts remain, which has made the progress of state-regulated gambling and betting difficult to progress.
Feature image credit: Canva
Khizar Mundia has been playing video games for as long as he can recall. Things have come a long way since the many days he spent playing the original NES, though. He now covers a variety of competitive games and esports, as well as the world of streaming, ranging from Twitch to Kick. If it’s of interest to gamers, it’s of interest to Khizar.
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