A bill to legalize Georgia daily fantasy sports will not be discussed in the House of Representatives today and will officially not crossover to the Senate, effectively killing the legislation’s chances at approval.

Rep. Ron Stephens‘ (R-165) bill, HB 1329, was not called today by the House Rules Committee and did not advance to the House of Representatives. Any bill not approved by its originating chamber during crossover day will not move forward for the rest of the session.

However, Georgia DFS hopes may not be completely dead just yet.

Georgia DFS down for the count

The bill was introduced by Stephens, Rep. Trey Kelley (R-16), Rep. Yasmin Neal (D-79), and Rep. Al Williams (D-168). Earlier this week the House Economic Development and Tourism Committee approved the legislation, moving it forward to the House Rules Committee, where it was not moved forward.

The DFS bill attempted to officially legalize fantasy contests in the state. Stephens noted that more than 250,000 residents played DFS last year, despite the contests not being legal.

Georgia is considered a gray state for DFS, which basically means the contests are not legal, but not banned outright. Contests are offered by operators and not regulated or taxed.

The bill defined fantasy contests as “any online fantasy or simulated game or contest of skill with an entry fee.” Participants would have been able to assemble, own, or manage a fictional entry or roster of actual professional or amateur athletes who participate in real-world sporting events.

Stephens estimated that licensing fees would have generated $8 million in the first year and an additional $40 million in annual revenue. Tax revenue from daily fantasy sports contests were earmarked for the Georgia Lottery to fund HOPE scholarships and pre-kindergarten programs.

The bill noted that the Georgia Lottery would have overseen and regulated contests in the state and taxed them at a rate of 20% of an operator’s adjusted gross fantasy contest receipts.

The bill will not move to the Senate and will likely die in the House of Representatives, but Georgia DFS hopes may still be revived for 2024.

Any room on the sports betting bill?

Despite the bill not moving out of the House of Representatives, a well-placed industry source told Saturday Down South that hope for DFS is not completely dead. The source noted that there is “positive momentum” in Georgia for daily fantasy sports and the bill’s language could be included in a larger sports betting bill.

The source referenced the Senate-approved sports betting bill SB 386 as a possible vehicle for the DFS language. SB 386 legalizes Georgia sports betting and was approved in the Senate by a 35-15 vote.

If approved by the House of Representatives, Georgia voters would have the final say on sports betting at the 2024 November general election.

The tactic of including new language in an already crossed over bill has been attempted before. A last minute endeavor was made in the 2023 session to legalize sports betting in the House, as lawmakers included sports betting language in a bill designating an official soap box derby racing competition in the state. The efforts were not met with enthusiasm and ultimately failed.