Although Georgia’s rules prohibiting gambling in any form are among the most stringent in the country, these policies may soon be subject to revision. Residents of the state will be allowed to place wagers on sporting events over the internet under the Georgia Sports Betting Integrity Act, which was recently filed by state legislators.

The Georgia Sports Betting Integrity Act and Its Purposes
The most recent parliamentary session in Georgia did not succeed in passing legislation to legalize sports betting, but politicians there were not prepared to give up without a fight. Billy Hickman, Clint Dixon, Brandon Beach, Ed Harbison, and Freddie Powell Sims have collaborated on the writing of a law that, if passed, would make it difficult for anyone to oppose the legalization of sports betting and would result in the generation of millions of dollars from the market.

Simply laying the groundwork for the state of Georgia to begin preparing for the legalization of online sports betting, this piece of legislation is all that is needed. The first thing that this bill would do is establish the Georgia Sports Betting Commission as an agency that would be in charge of monitoring and regulating the new market.

In addition to this, it stipulates that a rate of twenty percent will be applied to the income generated by online betting and that between nine and eighteen Type 1 sports betting licenses would be issued to qualifying operators. At addition to this, self-service betting kiosks will be allowed in coin-operated amusements venues, lottery merchants, and licensed liquor stores.

A Brief Overview of Georgia’s Gambling Past
In contrast to what one might expect, the gambling industry in Georgia is not one of the state’s strongest points. Bingo, raffles, and the state lottery are the only three types of gambling that are permitted in the United States at this time.

It wasn’t until 1877 that Georgia legislators made it illegal to engage in any sort of gambling, including the sale of lottery tickets. It wasn’t until 1976 that charitable bingo games and raffles were finally given the green light to operate legally. The Georgia Lottery was first distributed to the public in 1993, but since then, there has been very little development.

It has only been in the recent past few years that legislators in Georgia have started making attempts to legalize gambling, namely in the form of sports betting. Despite the fact that a House committee voted in favor of both SR135 and SB142, the measures were never brought to a vote on the House floor, and there hasn’t been any progress made until now. To our relief, it appears that Georgia’s legalized online sports betting will have a prosperous and successful future.

How Likely Is It That Gambling on Sports Will Be Made Legal in the State of Georgia?
It is becoming more and more probable that the state of Georgia will pass legislation to allow sports betting this year. Because many of the challenges that legislators encountered the year before are no longer obstacles, citizens of the Peach State may soon have the opportunity to place wagers on the games of their preferred sports teams.

Previous attempts to legalize sports betting in the state of Georgia were hampered by a lack of support from both the state’s Republican and Democratic parties. However, due to the fact that both Republicans and Democrats collaborated in the writing of the Georgia Sports Betting Integrity Act, the new measure will not have the same flaw as the previous one.

A further advantage of the act is that it would not call for the amendment of the constitution in order to be implemented. This would make the process of legalizing sports betting considerably speedier since it would not be submitted to a public vote; yet, it might attract criticism from those who think that allowing gambling of any type in Georgia needs an amendment to be made to the state’s constitution. [Citation needed]

As the Georgia Sports Betting Integrity Act makes its way through the legislative process, we will keep you updated with any new information as it becomes available. The bill’s authors and supporters are very optimistic about the prospect of bringing legalized sports betting to Georgia.

Source: www.beatthefish.com