Casino News Georgia
A second gambling expansion bill was filed in Georgia Tuesday as Rep. Ron Stephens filed HR 30, which would allow citizens to vote on whether casino gambling is legal.
Casinos are Illegal in Georgia No Indian Casinos Currently in Georgia. Georgia law prohibits casino gambling, however, the United Keetooway Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma would like to change that. The tribe is in the initial planning stages of for seeking approval of a tribal casino. Their progress will be tracked in our News secttion below. A Savannah Republican lawmaker is again pushing legislation that would ask Georgia voters if they believe casino gambling should be allowed in the state. House Tourism and Economic Development Chairman Ron Stephens, R-Savannah, filed House Resolution 30 on Tuesday, which would put a question on the 2022 ballot asking Georgia voters if they support allowing casinos in Georgia.
It’s the second gambling bill that Stephens has sponsored after having his name attached to an online sports betting bill that was filed earlier this month at the start of the legislative session. According to a report from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Stephens said he plans to file a third piece of legislation that would legalize horse racing.
If passed, HR 30 would put a question on the ballot in 2022 asking whether voters support bringing casinos to the Peach State. Last December, Stephens told local media that getting expanded gambling passed in 2021 was incredibly likely but did mention that sports betting would be the easiest to pass.
Casino gambling would require an amendment to the state constitution which is why it would require a ballot initiative. With bills that require a constitutional amendment, two-thirds majority is needed in both chambers to get to the governor’s desk. Sports betting, however, could be legalized through the normal legislative process and a simple majority vote.
Like most other states that are looking at expanded gambling, tax revenue is a driving force behind legalization.
“We’re back at trying to backfill the HOPE Scholarship and Pre-K, and the destination resorts, along with the tourism piece, is the way to do it,” Stephens told the AJC.
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There was growing support for expanded gambling as the 2020 legislative session started, but the pandemic forced lawmakers to rearrange their legislative priorities. At the start of 2020, the president of the Atlanta Motor Speedway drew up a proposal for a $1 billion casino complex on-site.