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Rep. Ron Stevens, a Republican from Savannah, wanted to make a case about gambling in Georgia. At a 2021 hearing on legalized sports gambling, he walked down to the well in his home and said he was introducing a bill to ban all gambling in the state. Asked to come and sign the bill.
According to Stevens, his bill would have meant an immediate end to the Hope Scholarship.
“No one stood up,” said Stevens, chairman of the House Economic Development and Tourism Committee. “If anyone had signed it, it would have been their political death wish. They would have been kicked out of office on both feet.”
Stevens said it’s time to take additional steps to expand state-sanctioned gambling, the lottery, to include sports betting and allow horse racing and casinos. He said Congress has never been more confident in voting in sessions starting in January to put constitutional amendments on the ballot in 2024.
“We are moving away from $100 million in sports gambling each year, and other states and places like Antigua take that money from people here in Georgia,” Stevens said. “Let’s regulate it, tax it, put the money in Hope and Pre-K.”
Gambling legislation could also find a friendlier audience in the state Senate this year. Lieutenant Governor-elected Bert Jones, a Jackson Republican, sponsored the sports betting bill as a state senator in the House of Representatives, which he will soon chair. Jones appointed state senator Brandon Beach, an Alpharetta Republican who routinely supports the expansion of legalized gambling in Georgia, to the Senate’s commission of influence.
Stevens said the gambling law will require two bills before Georgia voters have the final say. One bill calls for constitutional amendments to allow sports gambling, horse racing and casinos, while the second bill calls for explaining exactly how the proceeds will be used. Stevens said local governments will decide whether they want to have horseback riding businesses and “destination resorts,” which usually feature casinos.
“There is an appetite for equestrian racing and the equestrian market as a whole if the locals are allowed to vote. I believe they will,” Stevens said. Please come back in time with your destination resort (casino) question.”
In 2022, the sports betting bill passed the Senate, surviving a vote from the committee, but died on the Gatekeeping Rules Committee.
State Senator Elena Parent of the Decatur Democrat said sports betting is already being practiced by many people across the state. By legalizing it and “building a framework,” the states will be able to collect taxes and “get a mutual benefit,” Parent said.
But the idea of combining casino and sports betting laws confuses the whole issue, she said.
“It’s not a slam-dunk because there are many people who want casino gambling (as sports betting) to be legalized at the same time, and there are many opponents,” the parent wrote in an email.
Stevens said he was willing to roll the dice, so to speak, and let local governments make that decision. If citizens want horse racing and casinos, so be it. Otherwise you’re not going anywhere. He said the constitutional amendment would not force casinos or racetracks in any city or town.
Opponents of casinos argue that it is one of regressive taxes on poor Georgians who play games to alleviate their inherent poverty. Many also say that the proceeds of lottery-funded Hope scholarships are increasingly sent to wealthy families who can afford tutors and better schools, and spend much of the merit-based Hope money. says.
In May 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the $165 billion U.S. sports betting industry could be cut by allowing states to legalize online sports gambling as legislatures seek ways to fill budget gaps. I opened the stopper to.
Tax revenues from online gambling have flowed into the coffers of 22 states since November 2020, including neighboring Tennessee, which earns about $74 million in tax revenues from sports betting.
However, neighboring South Carolina, Alabama and Florida do not regulate online gambling.
A statewide poll conducted by the Center for the Study of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia found that 45.6% of voters were in favor of legalizing online professional sports betting in the state, 42.6% were against, and 11.8% were against. I replied, “No.” Do not know”
Given the narrow margins in the polls, is Stevens reading the room accurately?
Regarding casino gambling in Georgia, 59.7% agree, 29.1% disagree, and 11.3% don’t know.
In her gubernatorial race, Stacey Abrams backed legalized sports betting to finance rising education costs.
Governor Brian Kemp voted against legalizing sports gambling in 2018. He did not take his public position on the issue during his gubernatorial run with Abrams in the fall.
But Kemp is unlikely to get in the way of constitutional reform. “We need a constitutional amendment to be able to (gamble) here. .
Stevens said Hope and Pre-K lotteries and funding have become “sacred cows”. .
“The composition of the people (voters) who send us here is why this is necessary,” he said. “We have his 3.6 million family members who have been touched by Hope and pre-K, and we want the opportunity to continue to support Hope and pre-K. Everything we’ve done in the last 25 years. ‘s game revenue is from Hope and Pre-K.
“Those people are grown up now, have kids of their own, and want to fully fund the program.”
Opponents of horse racing and pari-mutuel gaming, including the Georgia Baptist Convention and its 1.3 million members, argue that Georgia’s racetracks will eventually give way to slot machines and gaming tables within racetracks. Gambling addiction and broken families will follow, they say.
Stevens argues that rural Georgia would greatly benefit from a flourishing horse industry. He said it could boost the growth of lagging jobs.
According to a 2017 study by the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association, annual sales of Thoroughbreds in Florida are approximately $156 million. There are 100,000 thoroughbreds in the state, according to industry groups, and his direct impact on the thoroughbred industry is worth $1.5 billion. According to industry, there are 23,000 jobs related to thoroughbred racing in the state.
Jobs include hot walkers, grooms, jockeys, fence builders, barn painters, veterinarians, blacksmiths, leatherworkers, forage and hay dealers, tack repairers, horse transport trucks, maintenance workers, and more. will be
“The horse industry fits very well with the governor’s workforce development initiative,” Stevens said. “That’s what’s been important to him this entire semester. Georgia is fully employed, but rural unemployment isn’t great.
“People want to stay local, but there is no industry there to support them.”
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