WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — In 2020 Georgia’s General Assembly may take up the question of whether to legalize sports betting.
That comes after the U.S. Supreme Court this spring said the federal government can not prevent states from legalizing gambling on football, basketball, baseball, and other sports.
Now a group of legislators are studying the issue and whether Georgia would need to pass a constitutional amendment to make it happen.
House Resolution 380 would give sports fans in Georgia the chance to get involved in the game like never before.
Stephen Hogg comes to Wild Wings Café in Warner Robins regularly to watch sports.
"I think it’s a great idea," Hogg said.
Hogg said legalizing sports betting could open up a lot of doors for Georgia’s economy.
"They do it in Vegas all the time. There’s other people that do things and they get the benefit from it. Why not let Georgia broaden it’s horizons and bring a lot of money here? It can’t hurt," he said.
The resolution states that the money that comes from taxing and regulating the betting would be put towards educational programs.
"There’s a lot of things that people do illegally as it is and they make the benefit from it and if we legalized it, a lot more people would benefit from it," Hogg said.
If passed, Georgia would be the 12th state to legalize sports betting.
Tennessee is the latest state to legalize sports betting back in May of 2019, but only online. State leaders project the tax revenue from the betting will bring in about $50 million annually.
As for Hogg, he said he is a die-hard Falcons fan but if he were to put his money on a team, it would be the Patriots.
The next General Assembly session starts Jan. 13, 2020.
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