The members of the Georgia Senate today rejected a Georgia sports betting bill that would have legalized the form of gaming without the need for a state constitutional amendment.

The Senate voted 19-37 against SB 57, a bill seeking to legalize retail and online sports betting in the Peach State. The bill allowed up to 18 online sports betting licenses, and businesses holding liquor licenses in the state would have been eligible to host retail sports betting kiosks.

Monday, March 6, is the Peach State’s crossover deadline, meaning any bill looking to crossover from one chamber to the other must do so by that date.

Sports betting hopes still alive

Despite the Senate rejecting SB 57, sports betting hopes are still alive in the Peach State. On Monday, the Georgia House of Representatives will consider HB 380, a very similar bill to SB 57 that seeks to legalize online sports betting without a constitutional amendment.

Georgia Rep. Marcus Wiedower’s (R-119) bill will only allow for online sports betting. Eligible license holders will be 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.

Unlike SB 57, Wiedower’s bill does not include a horse racing element, which may have been a point of contention in the Senate and a reason for its failure to pass. Gov. Brian P. Kemp (R) has supported the legalization of sports betting in the past, but has not shared an affinity for the legalization of horse racing.

Professional sports franchises, and even Augusta National, will be able to offer online sports betting if they receive one of the 16 online sports betting licenses. Eight licenses will be tethered to Georgia sports teams, one tethered to the Georgia Lottery Corporation, and seven will be untethered licenses.

The lawmaker’s bill sets the state sports betting tax rate at 25% of adjusted gross gaming revenue, which was increased in committee from its original proposal of 15%. Online license applicants must pay a non-refundable $100,000 application fee and an annual fee of $1.5 million if awarded an untethered license and $750,000 if awarded a tethered license.

Two Senate bills also remain

The Senate may take up two remaining sports betting bills, SB 172 and SR 140, on Monday as well. SB 172 and SR 140 will put forth the legalization of online and retail sports betting to state voters through a constitutional amendment.

This has been the most common tactic to legalize Georgia sports betting in the past. Sen. Bill Cowsert’s (R) bill would create the Georgia Gaming Corporation, which would include the Georgia Sports Betting Commission. This commission would regulate sports betting activity in the state.

The potential legislation will allow for six untethered online sports betting licenses at a cost of $1 million annually. It sets a tiered sports betting tax rate of 25% of adjusted gross income for parlays, prop bets, and live bets, and a 20% of adjusted gross income for all other sports wagers.

Retail sports betting would be legalized through sports betting kiosks regulated by the lottery.

Because the legislation seeks to legalize sports betting through a constitutional amendment, it would have to be approved by a two-thirds vote.