Georgia State Senator Clint Dixon’s sports betting bill, SB 386, has been languishing in the House since passing through the Senate several weeks ago and the deadline looms large as the bill, and its companion SR 579, must be approved by March 28th in order for it to go to the voters in November.
Clock Ticking
Time is not a friend of the most recent sports betting legislation in the Peach State as the bills must be passed by March 28th if it is to be considered by the voters at the ballot boxes in November. Otherwise, it will be next year before the measures can be advanced again and many believe it is an idea whose time has come.
Last week’s discussion of the bill in the House Higher Education Committee was disjointed, and many of the members were either unsure or uninformed of exactly what the bill does and where the revenues would be allocated.
It is an ongoing discussion, but one that will have to be fine-tuned and streamlined if the bills are to have any chance of getting the electorate to decide the fate of sports betting in Georgia.
Is It Worth It?
Senator Bill Cowsert, the sponsor of Senate Resolution 579, which is SB 386’s accompanying bill that changes the constitution and directs where the revenues are earmarked, has estimated sports betting will bring $50 million to the tax coffers. But some of his colleagues believe that the juice is not worth the squeeze.
“Since we’re not gonna really make any money based on what you’re saying, and then we’re gonna have people gambling, and then we’ve gotta take care of them, then why are we even doing this? What’s the purpose?” Rep. Rhonda Burnough said, as per local media reports.
But Cowsert had previously addressed this line of thought by stating that sports betting is already happening in Georgia whether it be with citizens crossing state lines to bet legally in neighboring states or wagering with unregulated books without the protections of a state regulatory agency. He has also stated that people should have the choice to make their own decisions.
“Democracy is a pretty powerful thing. I don’t think you can rightly criticize allowing the citizens of this state to decide what they do and do not want. They might make a bad choice, they might make a good choice, but it’s not always appropriate for us to dictate our will on them, especially with huge policy issues like this,” Cowsert said during a committee meeting.
Sports Betting is Alive in Deadwood
We don’t use South Dakota and gambling in the same sentence, but in one cowboy town, sports betting has become one of many gambling attractions. Deadwood, South Dakota is the place and its legal gaming roots go back to 1989 when slots and table games were legalized followed by roulette, keno, and craps in 2015.
But when sports betting launched in September 2021, it took the town to an entirely new level because it brought in a younger, hipper demographic that began visiting for bachelor parties and whatever other events draw 20-somethings to a venue. The number of sportsbooks has risen from just two to seven and in October 2023 the handle topped $1 million in a single month for the first time which is heady stuff for a town of a little more than 1,300 people and less than five square miles.
According to the South Dakota Department of Revenue, the sports betting handle in Deadwood went from $2.7 million in 2021 to $9 million in 2023, which was a 26% increase over 2022. Mobile sports betting is not yet available in South Dakota but commercial retail sportsbooks are allowed and they are only found in Deadwood.
