Georgia CommonsHouse · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 1197: Georgia Lottery for Education Act; authorize certain billiards and darts tournaments and prizes
Last action February 24, 2026 · House Committee Favorably Reported
A Georgia House bill would let bar and arcade locations run billiards and darts tournaments with gift-card prizes, require progressive discipline for coin-operated amusement machine violations, and move appeals of Georgia Lottery Corporation decisions to a specialized Fulton County court division.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Introduced version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Georgia's Lottery for Education Act regulates coin-operated amusement machines found in bars, arcades, and similar locations. This bill adds a new provision letting location owners or operators that already have licensed amusement machines run billiards or darts tournaments on their premises, with prizes limited to gift cards or other noncash redemption rather than cash. The bill also standardizes discipline across several sections of the law, requiring the Georgia Lottery Corporation to use a progressive penalty scale: a warning for a first offense, a fine for a second, suspension and a fine for a third, and suspension, revocation, or a fine (or combination) for a fourth or later offense. It creates new rules for resolving disputes between master licensees and location owners or operators, including fee-shifting for parties who bring or defend disputes without substantial justification. It also moves appeals from Georgia Lottery Corporation decisions and hearing officer rulings to the Metro Atlanta Business Case Division of the Superior Court of Fulton County. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.
What the bill does
- Authorizes location owners or operators with licensed coin-operated amusement machines to run billiards or darts tournaments and award gift cards or other noncash prizes to winners.
- Requires the Georgia Lottery Corporation to use progressive discipline (warning, then fine, then suspension and fine, then suspension/revocation/fine) for violations across several licensing and penalty sections.
- Requires the corporation to build a system by July 1, 2027 to track and report the amounts of lottery products, gift cards, and replays issued as noncash prizes from amusement machines.
- Moves appeals of corporation decisions, and appeals of hearing officer rulings in master licensee disputes, from internal review or general Fulton County Superior Court to the Metro Atlanta Business Case Division of that court.
- Creates a fee-shifting rule letting a hearing officer or court award attorney fees and revenue forfeiture against a master licensee or location owner/operator that pursues or defends a dispute without substantial justification.
- Requires the chief executive officer to delegate hearing authority to a hearing officer rather than optionally to 'an authorized representative.'
Who it affects
Bar, restaurant, and arcade owners who host coin-operated amusement machines; billiards and darts tournament players; master licensees and equipment distributors regulated by the Georgia Lottery Corporation; and the corporation itself, which must build new reporting systems and apply new disciplinary and appeal rules.
Why it matters
Location owners would gain a new, clearly legal way to host billiards and darts tournaments with prizes, while the standardized progressive discipline and revised appeals process would change how quickly the corporation can suspend or fine violators and where those decisions get challenged in court.
Key provisions
- Section 1 adds a new subsection to O.C.G.A. § 50-27-71 defining billiards and darts and authorizing tournaments with noncash prizes such as gift cards, and lets the corporation write implementing rules.
- Section 2 requires the corporation to work with the Bona Fide Coin Operated Amusement Machine Operator Advisory Board by July 1, 2027 to build a tracking and reporting system for noncash redemptions.
- Sections 3, 6, and 7 add matching progressive discipline language (warning, fine, suspension and fine, suspension/revocation/fine) to license revocation, criminal violation, and location owner penalty provisions.
- Section 4 moves appeals of corporation actions from Fulton County Superior Court generally to that court's Metro Atlanta Business Case Division.
- Section 5 requires (rather than permits) the chief executive officer to delegate hearing authority to a hearing officer.
- Section 8 adds detailed dispute-resolution rules for master licensee versus location owner/operator disputes, including fee-shifting for claims or defenses brought without substantial justification, and moves those appeals to the Metro Atlanta Business Case Division as well.
- Section 9 makes the Act effective upon the Governor's signature.
From the bill
“A location owner or a location operator shall be authorized to conduct billiards or darts tournaments on the premises for which such licensee has a contract for the installation of bona fide coin operated amusement machines.”
“Discipline shall be progressive in nature to include a warning on the first offense; a fine on the second offense; a suspension and fine on the third offense; and a suspension, revocation, fine, or combination thereof on the fourth and subsequent offenses.”
Discussed in meetings (6)
The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.
House Regulated Industries Committee, February 23, 2026
From 0:12:51 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor described HB 1197 as an administrative update for coin-operated amusement machines, an industry the sponsor said raises about $200 million for the state lottery. The sponsor said it would allow noncash redemption cards as prizes in darts and billiards tournaments, establish escalating penalties for violations, and require timely notice of violations. The sponsor said appeals would go directly to the business court to reduce delays for small businesses. The bill would also direct a party's share of proceeds to the Lottery Commission when that party pursues litigation found to be frivolous. The sponsor said the Lottery Commission and its amusement-machine advisory board would develop a way to track lottery products redeemed as machine winnings. No members asked questions. The committee approved the bill by voice vote, with opposition heard.
House Rules Committee, February 25, 2026
From 1:32:06 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The presenter said HB 1197 would allow noncash prizes for tournaments involving coin-operated darts and billiards. The presenter also said it would require clear notice of violations from the lottery's coin-operated amusement machine division, establish progressive discipline and allow appeals from hearing officers to go directly to the business court. No questions or scheduling decision followed.
House Rules Committee, March 6, 2026
From 1:23:51 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 2178
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee placed HB 1197 on the supplemental floor calendar under modified structured rules. No substantive discussion occurred.
Status timeline
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Alan Powell (R, HD-33)
- Rick Jasperse (R, HD-11)
- David Wilkerson (D, HD-38)
- Mary Margaret Oliver (D, HD-84)
- Kasey Carpenter (R, HD-4)
- Derrick McCollum (R, HD-30)
Topics
- Georgia Lottery Corporation
- coin-operated amusement machines
- billiards and darts tournaments
- gambling regulation
- court appeals process