HB903: HB903 Georgia Administrative Procedure Act shall apply to all executive branch agencies; provide

This bill amends the Georgia Lottery for Education Act (O.C.G.A. Chapter 27 of Title 50), which regulates coin operated amusement machines such as pinball, claw machines, pool tables, and similar arcade-style games. It updates the definitions of a 'bona fide coin operated amusement machine' and a 'Class A machine,' and lets location owners hold billiards or darts tournaments on machines at their business, with prizes limited to gift cards or other noncash redemption. The bill sets a $50 wholesale value cap on machine-dispensed prizes and a $2 cap when winnings are redeemed for gift cards elsewhere, and it requires the Georgia Lottery Corporation to use a standard 'progressive discipline' system (warning, then fine, then suspension, then revocation) for violations. It moves appeals of corporation and hearing officer decisions to the Metro Atlanta Business Case Division of the Superior Court of Fulton County, and it orders a study on redemption and tampering issues due by July 1, 2027. The bill would take effect upon the Governor's signature or upon becoming law without signature.

• Clarifies the legal definition of a 'bona fide coin operated amusement machine' and a 'Class A machine' under the Georgia Lottery for Education Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-27-70).
• Allows location owners or operators to run billiards or darts tournaments on amusement machines, with prizes limited to gift cards or other noncash rewards.
• Restricts who can receive proceeds from machine play, generally requiring a master license, and bars manufacturers or distributors from collecting proceeds unless they also hold one.
• Caps noncash prize values at $50 wholesale for direct machine redemption and $2 per play for gift-card style redemption after July 1, 2026.
• Requires the Georgia Lottery Corporation to apply a standard progressive discipline system (warning, fine, suspension, revocation) across multiple violation types.
• Moves appeals of Georgia Lottery Corporation and hearing officer decisions to the Metro Atlanta Business Case Division of the Superior Court of Fulton County instead of the chief executive officer.

The bill affects businesses that host coin operated amusement machines (bars, arcades, convenience stores), master licensees and machine manufacturers and distributors who supply and service the machines, the Georgia Lottery Corporation and its hearing officers, and the Fulton County Superior Court, which gains a new category of appeals.

Businesses that rely on arcade-style machines for revenue would face clearer prize limits and a predictable, staged penalty system instead of ad hoc enforcement. Licensees disputing corporation decisions would go straight to a specialized Fulton County court division rather than an internal appeal to the chief executive officer first.

• Section 1 revises the definitions of 'bona fide coin operated amusement machine' and 'Class A machine' in O.C.G.A. § 50-27-70, including a list of covered machine types.
• Section 2 authorizes billiards and darts tournaments at licensed locations and restricts who may receive proceeds from machine play (O.C.G.A. § 50-27-71).
• Section 3 sets redemption rules effective July 1, 2026 for Class A and Class B machines and creates progressive discipline for improper redemption (O.C.G.A. § 50-27-71.1); also orders a study due by July 1, 2027.
• Section 4 applies progressive discipline (warning, fine, suspension, revocation) to license refusal, revocation, or suspension decisions (O.C.G.A. § 50-27-73).
• Section 5 moves judicial review of corporation actions to the Metro Atlanta Business Case Division of the Superior Court of Fulton County (O.C.G.A. § 50-27-76).
• Section 6 requires the chief executive officer to delegate hearing authority to a hearing officer rather than just being permitted to (O.C.G.A. § 50-27-81).
• Sections 7-8 extend the same progressive discipline framework to criminal violation investigations and penalties against location owners or operators (O.C.G.A. §§ 50-27-82, 50-27-85).
• Section 9 changes how disputes between master licensees and location owners or operators are certified and appealed, routing appeals to the Fulton County Superior Court's business division (O.C.G.A. § 50-27-102).

1. 2026-03-25Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
2. 2026-03-25Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
3. 2026-02-12Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
4. 2026-02-11House Passed/Adopted (House)
5. 2026-02-11House Third Readers (House)
6. 2026-01-29House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
7. 2026-01-12House Second Readers (House)
8. 2025-04-04House First Readers (House)

• Alan Powell (R, HD-033)Primary sponsor
• William Werkheiser (R, HD-157)
• Steve Tarvin (R, HD-002)
• Rick Jasperse (R, HD-011)
• Lauren McDonald (R, HD-026)
• Bill Cowsert (R, SD-046)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 11, 2026

   166 yea, 3 nay (1 not voting, 5 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #502

• coin operated amusement machines
• Georgia Lottery Corporation
• gaming regulation
• arcade game licensing
• business court appeals