Georgia Lawmakers Wading Back Into Online Sports Betting Discussion

• A Georgia House of Representatives member has reintroduced an online sports betting bill
• The bill will allow for up to 18 online sportsbooks in the state
• Legislation sets the online sports betting tax rate at 25% of adjusted gross revenue

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Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.

Lawmakers will yet again give Georgia online sports betting a look, as Rep. Matt Hatchett (R-155) reintroduced HB 910, a bill seeking to legalize online sports betting in the Peach State.

Unlike most Georgia online sports betting bills, the piece of legislation seeks to legalize through a simple law, not requiring state voters to approve an amendment to the constitution to allow the new form of gaming.

Here We Go Again

Hatchett introduced the bill last April, but the legislation did not move out of committee. It has been referred House committee on higher education.

The bill legalizes online sports betting for up to 18 sportsbooks and does so without the need for a constitutional amendment. Most prior pieces of sports betting legislation that have moved through either the Georgia House or Senate with some success attempted to legalize through a voter referendum, allowing the people of the Peach State to have the final say on the new form of gaming.

If approved, the legislation will allow the Georgia Lottery to regulate online sports betting. It would be taxed at a rate of 25% of adjusted sports betting revenues and operators would pay a $1.5 million annual fee for a license. An application fee of $100,000 is also required for an operator.

• Five for Georgia professional sports teams (Atlanta Hawks, Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta United FC, and Atlanta Dream)
• One for Augusta National Golf Course
• One for the PGA Tour
• One for Atlanta Motor Speedway
• One for the Georgia Lottery Corporation
• Two for entities that have been approved in the state by the National Steeplechase Association

The remaining seven licenses will be awarded by the Georgia Lottery to online sports betting providers following a public procurement process.

Will Georgia Have a Chance at Legalization?

It seems unlikely that the 2026 path to sports betting legalization will be any different than every other year the state has debated legalization. After the 2025 failure, Georgia lawmakers approved the formation of a study committee to evaluate the potential benefits of legalized sports betting and casino gaming.

However, after several months of meetings, the Georgia House Study Committee on Gaming offered no recommendations or opinions for or against the legalization of sports betting, casino gambling, horse racing, lottery, or any other form of regulated gaming in the state in its final nine-page report.

Instead, the committee simply provided background of its formation and a brief summation of each of its four meetings, leaving its opinion on the legalization of Georgia gaming a mystery.

Chaired by Rep. Marcus Wiedower (R-119) – who has filed several sports betting bills over the past several years – many hoped the committee would offer a final recommendation or opinion on the legalization of Georgia sports betting or casino gaming.

Instead, the final report mainly focused on providing links to testimony shared by gaming representatives and those in opposition who spoke throughout the court of the meetings.

With no final recommendation from the study committee, it seems unlikely that Georgia lawmakers will seriously consider any gaming legalization bills in 2026.

Add in the fact that Rep. Wiedower, perhaps the state’s biggest sports betting proponent over the last several years, resigned from the House in October to focus on a career in real estate, it just further makes the situation more difficult.

Any Chance At All?

Two positives for sports betting’s chances in the state? A Georgia Senate Study Committee on Making Georgia the No. 1 State For Tourism published its final report on Dec. 1, which included a recommendation to legalize Georgia sports betting. It noted that Georgia sports betting revenue could be used to lure major events to the state, such as the Super Bowl or the NCAA Final Four, in the same manner North Carolina uses its sports betting revenues.

However, outside of a one sentence recommendation to legalize sports betting in the report, it did not offer much more in terms of what sports betting should look like or how it should be legalized in the state.

Additionally, in a recent WSB-TV report on the Peach Bowl, which was held in Atlanta, Rep. Matt Reeves (R-99) expressed his disappointment that the state derived no sports betting revenues from the event, despite millions placing bets. The Peach Bowl featured Indiana taking on Oregon in the college football semifinals; two states with legalized sports betting.

“We got the Peach Bowl here today with these two states who are benefiting for their kids’ education, whereas Georgia is not getting a dollar from it, even though millions of Georgians are placing bets,” Reeves said.