SB208: SB208 State Government; regulation and taxation of sports betting in this state; authorize and provide

Sports betting is not currently authorized under Georgia law. This bill would change that by adding a new article to the state's lottery law that lets the Georgia Lottery Corporation regulate and offer online sports betting as a lottery game. It creates a licensing system with up to 18 'Type 1' licenses reserved mostly for Georgia's professional sports teams, golf and racing venues, and their designated online betting operators, plus a public procurement process for additional operators. The bill sets detailed rules: bettors must be 21 or older and physically in Georgia, licensees must verify identities and block minors, and people with inside access to games (athletes, coaches, league employees) cannot bet on their own sports. It imposes a 25 percent tax on operators' adjusted gross betting income, with proceeds going toward the constitutional purposes of the Lottery for Education program. It also exempts sports wagers from state sales tax and existing gambling laws, and sets civil and criminal penalties for violations. The law would take effect immediately if signed by the Governor.

• Authorizes the Georgia Lottery Corporation to license and regulate online sports betting as a new lottery game, called the 'Georgia Lottery Game of Sports Betting Act.'
• Creates a licensing system capping the number of 'Type 1' operator licenses at 18, reserved mainly for Georgia professional sports teams, certain golf and motorsports venues, and steeplechase organizations.
• Imposes a 25 percent state privilege tax (a tax on the right to operate the business) on operators' monthly adjusted gross betting income.
• Sets a minimum age of 21 to place a bet, requires identity verification, and bans wagers on high school sports or by people with inside access to games such as athletes and league employees.
• Creates civil and criminal penalties for illegal betting, including fines up to $25,000 per violation and misdemeanor charges for underage or unlicensed betting.
• Exempts sports betting wagers from Georgia's general sales tax and carves sports betting consideration out of the legal definition of an illegal 'bet' under Georgia's gambling code.

Georgia's professional sports teams and venues that could hold betting licenses, companies that would operate online betting platforms, adult Georgians who want to place sports bets, the Georgia Lottery Corporation which would gain new regulatory duties, college athletic programs and their students and staff, and people seeking help for gambling problems.

If enacted, Georgians 21 and older could legally place sports bets online for the first time, professional teams and licensed companies could earn revenue from betting operations, and the state would collect a new tax stream directed toward education funding, while new rules would govern who can bet and how underage or insider betting is punished.

• Part I (Sections 1-1 and 1-2) updates lottery definitions and the Lottery Corporation's powers to cover sports betting and exempts most related rulemaking from the Georgia Administrative Procedure Act.
• Code Section 50-27-122 defines dozens of betting terms, including 'bettor' (21+ and physically in Georgia), 'sports betting' (limited to online betting), and 'wager' (fixed-odds, futures, money line, over/under, parlay, and proposition bets).
• Code Section 50-27-123 gives the Lottery Corporation broad regulatory powers, including licensing, audits, subpoenas, and a problem-gambling assistance program, but bars licenses from being issued before September 1, 2025.
• Code Section 50-27-130 sets license application requirements and fees: a $100,000 application fee and $1.5 million annual fee for Type 1 licensees, smaller fees for service providers and suppliers, and a minimum $500,000 reserve requirement to cover payouts.
• Code Section 50-27-133 caps Type 1 licenses at 18, reserving five for major professional sports teams and others for specific golf, racing, and steeplechase entities, with remaining licenses awarded through public procurement.
• Code Section 50-27-150 sets a 25 percent privilege tax on operators' monthly adjusted gross income, paid to the corporation and directed to constitutional lottery-for-education purposes.
• Code Section 50-27-162 lists who cannot bet, including athletes betting on their own events, league employees, and people with access to nonpublic information, with escalating misdemeanor penalties and fines from $500 to $7,500 for violations.
• Part III amends Georgia's existing gambling code (O.C.G.A. §§ 16-12-20, 16-12-27, 16-12-28) to exclude licensed sports betting consideration from the definition of an illegal 'bet' and exempt licensed sports betting ads and information sharing from existing restrictions.

1. 2025-02-20Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2025-02-19Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Billy Hickman (R, SD-004)Primary sponsor

• sports betting
• gambling regulation
• Georgia Lottery Corporation
• state taxation
• problem gambling resources