Georgia tourism committee pushes for mobile sports betting
The Georgia Senate Study Committee for Tourism has proposed legalizing mobile sports betting in its final report on boosting the state’s visitor economy.
The proposal adds new momentum to a long-running policy debate in which repeated efforts to expand gambling failed because changes require either a constitutional amendment or adjustments to lottery-managed gaming.
According to the Independent, the report, titled Final Report of the Senate Study Committee on Making Georgia the No. 1 State for Tourism’, was updated shortly before publication with the suggestion that “the State of Georgia should legalize sports betting” as part of plans to boost the fiscal and economic impact of tourism. The Independent reported that the recommendation was not discussed publicly before being included.
The report noted that North Carolina allocates a share of sports betting revenue to attract major events and suggested Georgia could adopt a similar model to strengthen tourism.
Atlanta will host 2026 World Cup matches, and the committee has warned that despite US$45.2 billion in visitor spending in 2024, Georgia lacks an international marketing campaign ahead of the tournament. The report argued that sports tourism and mobile wagering could help raise the state’s profile.
Lawmakers previously rejected an online sports betting and casino bill earlier this year, leaving broader gaming reform unresolved. The new proposal provides a fresh perspective as legislators reconsider their options.
Missouri’s recent launch served as a reference point, with more than 250,000 accounts active on day one. Early estimates suggested a first-year handle of approximately US$3.88 billion, providing lawmakers with a rough benchmark for market potential.
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The Backstory
Tourism pitch adds a new wrinkle
Georgia’s latest push to legalize sports wagering did not emerge from a gaming committee or a floor fight. It surfaced in a tourism blueprint. In a late change to its final report, the Senate Study Committee on Making Georgia the No. 1 State for Tourism urged lawmakers to legalize sports betting to help finance marketing and attract major events ahead of the 2026 World Cup. The recommendation, tucked into a broader visitor-economy strategy, signals a tactical shift after years of legislative stalemates. The study committee’s final report cites states that earmark betting revenue for tourism promotion and suggests Georgia adopt a similar model. The idea is that mobile wagering could create a recurring funding stream while leveraging the state’s sports assets in Atlanta and beyond.
The committee’s turn to sports betting underscores a practical concern. Despite robust visitor spending, Georgia lacks an international marketing campaign in the run-up to hosting World Cup matches. Linking a contentious policy to a widely supported economic goal could give legislators cover. It also reframes the politics: rather than a pure gambling expansion, the pitch is a tourism competitiveness measure with a narrow scope around mobile sportsbooks.
Years of near-misses set the table
Georgia has cycled through multiple attempts to legalize online wagering since the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for state-level markets in 2018. The pattern has been consistent: bills gain momentum, then stall over constitutional questions, tax rates and how to spend proceeds. Earlier this year, an online sports betting measure and a matching constitutional amendment missed a key deadline after failing to reach a House vote, despite backing from Atlanta’s pro teams and business groups. Lawmakers told the Associated Press they would keep working and that a referendum could slip to 2026. That setback and the broader context are outlined in Georgia online sports betting bill fails to meet deadline.
Opposition has remained organized and effective. A Senate panel recently shot down a resolution that would have sent online sports betting and casino gaming to voters, citing social costs and addiction risks. The debate featured public-health arguments and warnings from faith groups, as recapped in Georgia Senate put an end to online sports betting bill. Supporters countered that Georgians already bet via illegal apps and that geolocation data show significant online activity around major events, suggesting lost tax revenue. The committee still voted the measure down, illustrating the uphill climb for broad gaming expansions.
The tourism committee’s narrower suggestion focuses on mobile sportsbooks without casinos or retail betting hubs. That is a nod to what has polled better and what industry advocates see as the quickest path to a regulated market. It also tracks with prior House proposals to keep wagering online and to set a defined license cap and tax rate.
Leadership shake-ups raise uncertainty
Personnel shifts have complicated the path. One of the House’s most visible champions for online-only betting, Rep. Marcus Wiedower, resigned to pursue a business opportunity. He had sponsored bills to authorize up to 16 online licenses with a 24% tax and to put the question to voters in 2026. His exit leaves a vacuum in a chamber where coalition-building has been delicate and every sponsor matters. The implications are detailed in Georgia sports betting push faces uncertainty after lawmaker resigns.
Even with other sponsors remaining, the loss of a lead negotiator can slow drafting, splinter support over revenue allocation and revive disputes about whether a constitutional amendment is required. The tourism committee’s proposal may partly respond to that gap by offering a new policy vehicle and a purpose-built spending plan around event attraction and marketing. It also creates an opening for Senate leaders to shape the conversation when bills are reintroduced.
Arguments on revenue, risk and leakage
Hearings across the state have distilled the core arguments. Proponents cite job creation, tax revenue and the reality that Georgia residents already wager offshore or cross state lines. Economists have told lawmakers that the state is forgoing taxable activity and could design a regime that funds problem gambling services. A Savannah hearing captured the divide. Former Kentucky Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer touted job and revenue potential from regulated betting, while academics pointed to outflows to legal markets elsewhere. Those exchanges are summarized in Georgia committee hears sports gambling arguments.
Opponents focus on addiction, youth exposure and the social-service costs that may follow ubiquitous mobile betting. Faith-based groups and family advocates have pressed lawmakers to prioritize mental health and to avoid normalizing gambling. When a Senate measure to advance igaming and betting failed in committee, opponents called it a bipartisan victory. Advocates for legalization replied that voters should decide and that tax proceeds could fund treatment. The policy design question is whether a tightly scoped mobile-only system with dedicated funding for prevention can answer those concerns.
The tourism framing attempts to change the cost-benefit calculus. Rather than diffuse general-fund promises, it offers a targeted return: lure events, fill hotel rooms and back an international campaign tied to the World Cup. That approach has analogs. North Carolina steers a portion of betting revenue to event recruitment. The Georgia report nods to that model while leaning on the urgency of a fixed global deadline.
Regional lessons and timing pressure
Georgia’s neighbors have moved on sports betting, creating competitive pressure. As policymakers weigh their options, they are watching other state trajectories. Though not a Southeastern peer, Hawaii is testing a cautious path through the legislature with an online-only bill that includes a 10% tax and a dedicated Problem Gambling Prevention and Treatment Special Fund. The measure cleared six committees and passed the House with a 35-15 vote, reflecting a narrow, regulated model aimed at minimizing social harm. See Hawaii sports betting bill passes Senate committee for the latest step in that process.
Georgia has also seen big proposals falter when they try to bundle casinos, retail sportsbooks and broader gaming. The failed Senate resolution that paired online sports betting and casino gambling at a 20% tax is a recent example. A mobile-only structure tethered to tourism uses a different rationale and could command a separate coalition. It still leaves open fundamental questions: whether to seek a constitutional amendment, how many licenses to award, what tax rate to set and how to split revenue among tourism, education and treatment.
The clock matters. With World Cup matches less than two years away, any new system would need rulemaking, licensing and operator onboarding. Lawmakers who backed prior bills have said a referendum might not reach voters until November 2026 if processes slip. That timeline would miss the tournament and blunt the tourism argument. Supporters will likely push for enabling language that allows the lottery or a designated agency to supervise mobile betting without delay, while opponents will urge a go-slower approach or maintain a hard no.
The tourism committee’s recommendation is not a bill, but it changes the conversation. It offers a concrete destination for proceeds and a high-profile deadline. Whether that is enough to crack long-standing gridlock will depend on how leaders reconcile voter sentiment, constitutional constraints and the trade-offs between economic gains and social risks. The next version of a sports betting bill will show if Georgia intends to test a tourism-driven model or repeat familiar fights.
