Georgia and Alabama look unlikely to have any legal sports betting market in the near future as efforts to pass legislation make little to no progress.
In Georgia, hopes of legalization this year have died, with lawmakers rejecting HR450 by a margin of 98-63. The 63 yes votes were well short of the 120 needed to pass the bill.
Meanwhile, in neighboring Alabama, lawmakers have done nothing to advance a proposal to bring sports betting into the state. There may be up to 10 more sessions before the legislature adjourns on March 27, but with no progress on SB257, it looks like there will be no change in the state’s prohibitive laws.
Legal Betting Could Prevent Debts, Says Addicted Lawmaker
Rep. Kasey Carpenter was one of the lawmakers who voted ‘yes’ in Georgia. Carpenter said legalization would have protected gamblers and admitted he suffers from problem gambling.
“I am an addict,” he told the House. “I started picking football games when I was 8 years old. This bill, to me, is about safety.”
He said that legal sportsbooks would protect bettors from racking up unmanageable debts, which illegal bookies encourage.
“Legalizing sports betting eliminates the chase. You got $100, you can bet $100. The bookie, he gives you until Monday, so you lose $100, then you turn it to $200, then you turn it to $400, next thing you know, you’re down $1,200. This eliminates that.”
Others Reject Terms Of Bill
The legislation in Georgia asked lawmakers, “Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to authorize sports betting in this state to provide additional funding for pre-kindergarten and HOPE scholarships?”
It proposed sending the proceeds from sports betting revenue to a special fund to be spent on educational programs, with a portion set aside for gambling addiction treatment.
Some gambling proponents said it was the terms of the spending that led them to vote ‘no’. Democratic state Rep. Al Williams said he believes Georgia needs more gaming, but he wants a say in how revenue is spent.
“This is in need of bipartisan support, and to get bipartisan support, you need to let the folks on this side of the aisle have some say on how the money is going to be divided,” he told the Georgia Recorder. “The last time I was handed a plate of food and told ‘Eat this,’ I was quite young and didn’t have any choice. Since then, I get to decide what to eat.”
Republican Rep. Alan Powell also said he wanted expanded gambling options but felt the bill’s terms meant the state would not see much additional funding.
He stated, “You hear all this pie in the sky about how much money they’re going to raise – no. … because most of these sports betting (services) are offshore, in other states, and you can’t audit them, and that’s the way it is.”
Legal sportsbooks are also now competing with prediction markets, which do not contribute to state coffers. Platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi now enable residents in Georgia to wager on a wide range of sports, including esports.
The lack of any progress this year is good news for the prediction market platforms. As lawmakers argue about how much money they can squeeze out of sports betting, not legalizing it means they will continue to get nothing.
Little Interest In Alabama
Over the border in Alabama, the legislation to offer residents a vote on whether they want to have legal sports betting remains stuck in the Senate Tourism Committee.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Coleman-Evans, believes legalizing gambling could generate significant revenue for the state and allow lawmakers to avoid taxing citizens to raise funds.
Rep. Phillip Ensler, who is running for lieutenant governor, says it is crazy that Alabama does not allow any legal gambling.
He has proposed the Clean Lottery Act, but that bill has not even been assigned to a committee yet. With little time left in the legislative session, it looks unlikely that fellow lawmakers will advance either his bill or Coleman-Evans’ legislation.
Elsewhere, Minnesota continues to consider legislation to allow online sports betting, but efforts in Mississippi and Wisconsin have suffered setbacks. Neither state looks likely to launch an online esports betting market in the foreseeable future.