ATLANTA – A Georgia Senate resolution to possibly put legalizing sports betting and casinos on the ballot died in committee on Thursday. 

The vote came as experts say Georgia is missing out on hundreds of millions of dollars in potential tax revenue from legalization. 

What we know:

The State Senate’s Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee took up SR 131 on Thursday. 

The measure would have legalized both online sports betting and casino gambling and taxed them at 20% if it was approved by voters during a November election. 

Sponsor State Sen. Carden Summers says the measure would’ve divided up any tax revenue evenly among all of Georgia’s 159 counties.  

But the committee overwhelmingly voted down the measure, making it yet another resolution to put the question of legalizing gambling on the ballot that fell short of the goal line. 

What they’re saying:

“I believe that was a victory because I saw Democrats and Republicans voting against this bill,” said Mike Griffin, the public affairs representative with the Georgia Baptist Mission Board.

Griffin and several other lobbyists who opposed the resolution spoke out against it during Thursday’s committee meeting. 

They oppose any legalization of sports betting, casino gambling, or other forms of gambling for a variety of reasons, including a potential increase in gambling addiction rates. 

“You think about the mental health issues that are related to it. You think about the increase in addiction. You think about how up to a third of addicted gamblers are going to consider committing suicide,” Griffin said. 

According to gambling addiction support group Gambleaware, compulsive gamblers are six times more likely to have suicidal thoughts.

The other side:

John Pappas is a senior advisor at Geocomply, who handles cybersecurity for major sports betting websites and enforces state boundaries for the sites. 

He shared data with FOX 5 that shows how many people tried to bet online in Georgia during Superbowl weekend. 

A slide from Geocomply (Geocomply)

“We saw almost 14,500 active accounts in the State of Georgia. So these are people that could have been potential sports bettors. People who would have wanted to place a bet on a legal site, but couldn’t because they were in Georgia,” Pappas said. 

Their data shows a 75% increase compared to 2024’s Superbowl weekend. 

Pappas says they estimate if Georgia regulated sports betting it could be getting anywhere from $110-115 million annually in tax revenue. 

Summers says that’s money that could help counties in Georgia, especially supporting rural areas with things like infrastructure. 

“People have asked for the right to decide, and I’m adhering to the will of the people,” the senator said during the committee meeting. 

He says it’s clear from polling on the most recent Republican primary ballot that Georgians want to vote on this issue. 

“In 159 counties, 80% of the people voted in the Republican primary for question number six. They wanted the right to vote for removing the prohibition on gaming from the constitution in Georgia, which would allow casinos and sports betting, etc.” Summers said. 

But Griffin and other gambling opponents worry people won’t consider those social costs if it gets on the ballot. 

What’s next:

Even though this resolution died on the committee room floor Thursday, there are other lawmakers on the House side of the legislature, like State Rep. Marcus Weidower, who plan to bring legislation this session to legalize at least sports betting. 

That’s significant because some Senators who voted against SR 131 said they only did so because they didn’t believe it would get support in the House. 

So a resolution from the House may garner more support. 

But Griffin says they will oppose that as well.