The state Senate decisively struck down a gambling bill on Thursday, greatly reducing the likelihood that the state will expand legal betting opportunities beyond online sports betting this year.
The senators voted 37-19 against Senator Billy Hickman’s bill, which would have paved the way for online sports betting companies to accept bets in Georgia and also licensed three tracks statewide for horse racing. Two gambling accounts remain in play in this session, both restricted to online sports betting.
Hickman, a Republican from Statesboro, tried to persuade his colleagues that expanding gambling through the Georgia Lottery would create jobs for horse breeders and bidders, and bring in more state dollars for Pre-K programs and the HOPE Scholarship.
“You’ve heard the stories about our pre-K not being fully funded. You’ve heard the stories about our children not participating in preschool education. That will be extra money for that, and it will also be extra money for the universities,” he said.
Hickman said the combined horse-drawn carriage and sports betting business will create 8,500 jobs and an economic impact of $1.1 billion and between $250 and $300 million a year for the Georgia Lottery, which funds Pre-K and HOPE.
But other senators said the risks of expanding gambling outweigh the benefits. Tyrone Republican Senator Marty Harbin said gambling is a waste of money and ruins lives by causing addiction. He said he’s concerned that legitimizing a process running under the table could entice more young people into becoming addicts.
“As we speak, there is gambling — maybe there will be gambling on this law whether it gets passed or not. I don’t know what the odds are, but I can guarantee you they’re playing somewhere,” he said, pulling out his phone. “And this phone plays, wherever we go, it will be open to our children.”
The debate over the law got personal when Hickman asked Harbin if his children would accept the HOPE grant. Harbin said some of them did and some didn’t.
“So Lotteries helped fund your kids’ education?” Hickman asked.
“A small part of it,” Harbin said.
“Don’t you think lotteries also help fund a lot of your constituents’ children’s education?” Hickman asked.
“It funds my constituent’s education with the lottery there,” Harbin said. “But I don’t think more gambling is healthy for our state and our kids.”
Senator Marty Harbin, left, and Senator Billy Hickman debate Hickman’s gambling law. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder.
Harbin said rather than gamble more, he would rather see programs that make it easier for students to work their way through college and help lagging students graduate.
“Even though you’re so anti-gambling, do you feel like you did something wrong to allow your kids to accept lottery tickets?” Hickman asked. “Isn’t that like taking money from the players and spending it on your own personal needs? That’s what’s so hard for me to understand here.
“If it’s hard to understand, here’s what I’ll tell you,” Harbin said. “I pay a lot of taxes that go to the state anyway, and I think if I can take the law, I’ll use it.”
“I’m just really disappointed that you’re so anti-gambling, but you were willing to take lottery money for your kids,” Hickman said. “If you were so against it, you should never have taken the lottery money.”
“Thank you sir. Appreciate that,” Harbin replied.
Appropriations Committee Chairman Sen. Blake Tillery, a Vidalia Republican, said he was concerned about an amendment to the bill funding the lottery’s shortfall reserve.
“If you’re pro-horse racing, anti-horse racing, I don’t care, but we’re making a big change in policy with this bill that’s not about horse racing at all,” he said.
The state is required to keep half of the previous year’s lottery proceeds in a fund to pay HOPE in the event of a shortfall. According to the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, the reserves are $1.9 billion, of which about $772 million is needed in the event of a shortfall to fund HOPE programs. An additional $1.1 billion is considered unrestricted reserves.
Senator Blake Tillery. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
Tillery criticized lines in the bill that would have required a portion of unrestricted reserves to be spent on education, something Democrats have supported in recent years.
“Because that’s there, I can’t vote for it, it’s a policy change that I can’t support, and I would ask you, if you’re thinking about this law, to think about those lines, too,” he said.
One hope for people who like to gamble lies in the hands of Republican Rep. Marcus Wiedower of Watkinsville’s House Bill 380. If this law goes into effect, the Georgia Lottery will take control of sports betting in the state and 16 licenses would be available to operate betting services.
The other gambling bill still alive and heading towards Monday’s pivotal day to move from chamber to chamber is Senator Bill Cowsert’s Senate Bill 172, which would call for a constitutional amendment to allow sports betting in the state. This would require a two-thirds majority in both chambers and the consent of the electorate.
Both bills have been passed by their committees but have yet to be voted on in their respective chambers.
Monday is Crossover Day, the deadline for bills to be moved from one chamber to the next without legislative maneuvering.
