HB686: HB686 Georgia Sports Betting Act; enact

Georgia currently does not allow legal sports betting. This bill, the Georgia Sports Betting Act, would let the Georgia Lottery Corporation regulate and, in effect, license online sports betting statewide. It creates a licensing system with different license types for professional sports teams, golf and racing venues, and outside betting companies, capping the number of top-tier licenses at 16. It sets a 27.5 percent tax on adjusted gross income from sports betting, with money going into a new Georgia Sports Betting Proceeds Trust Fund for purposes already named in the Georgia Constitution. The bill also sets rules for who can bet (must be 21 or older and physically in Georgia), who cannot get a license or place bets (athletes, team employees, corporation staff, and others with inside access), and penalties for violations, including fines and, for repeat illegal betting, jail time. It amends existing gambling and tax laws so sports betting wagers are not treated as illegal bets or taxed as sales. The whole Act would only take effect January 1, 2027, and only if Georgia voters ratify a constitutional amendment authorizing sports betting; if they do not, the Act automatically repeals itself.

• Creates a licensing system run by the Georgia Lottery Corporation for online sports betting, with up to 16 'Type 1' licenses for teams, venues, and betting companies plus separate licenses for services providers and equipment suppliers.
• Imposes a 27.5 percent privilege tax (O.C.G.A. § 50-27-150) on the adjusted gross income (money kept after payouts) that licensees earn from sports bets, paid monthly.
• Sets application and annual licensing fees, ranging from $2,000 for equipment suppliers up to $1 million a year for Type 1 licensees, and requires a financial reserve of at least $500,000 to cover unpaid winnings.
• Bans people with inside access, like athletes, coaches, team employees, and corporation staff, from placing bets, and sets escalating fines and possible jail time for people who bet illegally.
• Requires licensees to verify bettor age and location, offer self-limiting and self-exclusion tools for problem gamblers, and post the National Problem Gambling helpline number.
• Makes the entire Act depend on Georgia voters first approving a constitutional amendment authorizing sports betting; without that, the law repeals itself automatically.

Georgia bettors aged 21 and older, the Georgia Lottery Corporation, professional sports teams and leagues, golf tournament operators, NASCAR-affiliated racetrack owners, online sportsbook companies, college athletic staff and student-athletes (who face betting restrictions), and people with gambling problems who would gain access to state-run assistance programs.

If voters approve the required constitutional amendment, Georgians would be able to legally place sports bets online for the first time, with state oversight of odds, payouts, and advertising. Tax revenue from betting would flow into a dedicated state trust fund, while new criminal penalties would apply to unlicensed or underage betting.

• Part I gives the Georgia Lottery Corporation added regulatory powers, exempting most of its sports betting rulemaking from the standard Georgia Administrative Procedure Act.
• O.C.G.A. § 50-27-133 caps Type 1 sports betting licenses at 16: five for pro sports teams, one each for four specific golf and racing entities, and seven awarded through public procurement to betting companies.
• O.C.G.A. § 50-27-150 sets a 27.5 percent privilege tax on adjusted gross betting income, deposited quarterly into the new Georgia Sports Betting Proceeds Trust Fund.
• O.C.G.A. § 50-27-162 bars specific insiders (athletes, team staff, corporation employees, college trustees, and others) from betting and sets fines from $500 up to $7,500 plus possible jail time for repeat violations.
• O.C.G.A. § 50-27-160 prohibits letting minors bet, extending credit to bettors, or accepting wagers on non-sporting events or high school games, with fines up to $25,000 per violation.
• Part III amends Georgia's gambling code (O.C.G.A. §§ 16-12-20, 16-12-27, 16-12-28) so that sports betting wagers and related activity are not treated as illegal 'bets' or unlawful gambling communication.
• Part IV exempts sports betting wagers from state sales and use tax under O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3.
• Section 5-1 makes the whole Act take effect January 1, 2027, contingent on ratification of a state constitutional amendment authorizing sports betting, and automatically repeals the Act if that amendment fails.

1. 2026-03-06House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
2. 2025-04-04House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
3. 2025-03-06House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
4. 2025-03-04House Second Readers (House)
5. 2025-03-03House First Readers (House)
6. 2025-02-28House Hopper (House)

• Marcus Wiedower (R, HD-121)Primary sponsor
• Charles Martin (R, HD-049)
• Matt Dubnik (R, HD-029)
• Noel Williams (R, HD-148)
• Matt Reeves (R, HD-099)

• sports betting
• gambling regulation
• Georgia Lottery Corporation
• state taxes
• constitutional amendment