Georgia House subcommittee approves new legalized gambling constitutional amendment

ATLANTA — For the first time during the 2021 General Assembly session, legislative leaders have combined all three forms of gambling they’re considering legalizing into a single resolution.

A Georgia House subcommittee approved a constitutional amendment Wednesday that would ask voters whether to legalize casinos, sports betting and pari-mutuel betting on horse racing in the Peach State.

While efforts to legalize casinos and horse racing haven’t made it through either legislative chamber despite years of trying, backers of legalized gambling have long cited polls that show most Georgians would support legalized gambling if they ever get a chance at a statewide referendum.

“Let folks vote on it,” said Rep. Alan Powell, R-hartwell, chairman of the House Regulated Industries Committee, which is expected to take up the new resolution later this week. “They’re the only ones who can make the decision.”

As introduced in January, the constitutional amendment was limited to casinos. A portion of the proceeds was to go toward the lottery-funded HOPE Scholarships program.

The new version of the measure would broaden legalized gambling to also include horse racing and sports betting.

Instead of going to HOPE, the state’s share of the proceeds from casinos and horseracing would be dedicated to health care, while the sports betting proceeds would go toward needs-based scholarships.