Georgia Sports Betting Proponent Resigns From House

• Rep. Marcus Wiedower (R-119) recently announced his decision to resign from the state legislature
• Wiedower introduced a number of bills to legalize sports betting in the state over the last several years
• He resigned in order to concentrate on a real estate business

One of Georgia’s biggest sports betting supporters has resigned from office.

Rep. Marcus Wiedower (R-119), one of the state’s largest proponents of legalized sports betting, announced Tuesday he would resign from the Georgia House of Representatives to focus on a career in real estate, according to AJC.com.

Wiedower began serving in the House in 2019.

Wiedower Driving Force for Georgia Sports Betting

While several bills to legalize sports betting in the Peach State have been introduced over the years, Wiedower seemed to helm the most serious efforts to legalize the new form of gaming in Georgia.

Wiedower filed two bills earlier this year to legalize Georgia online sports betting. Wiedower’s legislation depended on a constitutional amendment to legalize online sports betting, which would have required a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and Senate, and then approval from Georgia voters in a future election.

The legislation would have provided funding for the state lottery’s HOPE scholarship, pre-kindergarten, and a maximum of $22.5 million for problem gambling services.

Wiedower previously proposed a bill in 2023 to legalize sports betting as well. The bill did not require a constitutional amendment and legalized both online and retail sports betting in the state.

It allowed Georgia professional sports teams, a professional sports governing body that holds one or more sanctioned annual golf tournaments on a national tour of professional golf, or the owner of a facility in the state that has held an annual invitational golf tournament for professional and amateur golfers for at least 30 years to hold sports betting licenses.

What Happens Now For Georgia’s Sports Betting Chances?

Wiedower chaired the House Study Committee on Gaming in the State of Georgia, which met as recently as Thursday, Oct. 16.

Despite legislators not approving a sports betting or gambling bill in this previous session, they did approve HR 753, a bill creating the House Study Committee on Gaming in the State of Georgia. The committee has met four times, but no other future meetings have been scheduled.

The committee will be able to meet until Dec. 1, 2025, to make suggestions or file an official report on the legalization of gambling.

Without Wiedower, it will be interesting to see if Georgia legislators still seriously considering sports betting legislation. While lawmakers have seemed to come to a consensus that a constitutional amendment is necessary to legalize, which requires a public vote in an election, bills have continually faltered in the state.

Sports betting legislation will likely be introduced when Georgia comes back into session on Jan. 12, 2026, but it is hard to see a reality where anything crosses the finish line.