SB 571: Online Internet Safety; age verification to access gambling content on the internet; require

Georgia law currently does not require websites offering online gambling to check a visitor's age before letting them in. This bill adds a new section to the state's online internet safety law requiring any commercial entity operating a website where more than one-third of the content involves online gambling, sports betting, prediction market trading, or casino-style games, to use a reasonable age verification method before granting access. Acceptable verification methods include a digital driver's license, other government-issued ID, or any method meeting a federal identity assurance standard. Companies cannot keep identifying information once access is granted. Violators face civil lawsuits from affected individuals, including attorney's fees, plus fines up to $10,000 per violation pursued by the Attorney General, solicitor general, or district attorney. The bill exempts news organizations and internet service providers that merely carry the content.

• Requires commercial entities to verify that a user is at least 18 years old before allowing access to a website where more than 33.33 percent of content is online gambling, sports betting, or casino-style gaming.
• Creates a private right of action letting individuals sue companies for damages, court costs, and attorney's fees if a minor accesses gambling content without proper age verification.
• Allows the Attorney General, solicitor general, or district attorney to seek fines of up to $10,000 per violation in superior court.
• Bans companies from retaining a user's identifying information after age verification is complete and access is granted, with liability for knowingly keeping it.
• Exempts news-gathering organizations, news or public interest broadcasts, cloud service providers, and internet service providers that don't control the content.

Online gambling and sports betting operators, prediction market platforms, and other commercial websites hosting substantial gambling content; minors and parents concerned about underage access; news organizations and internet service providers, who are exempted; and the Attorney General's office and local prosecutors, who would enforce the law.

If enacted, Georgians running or using gambling-related websites would face new identity checks before accessing such content, and companies that skip verification or keep users' personal data too long could face lawsuits or state fines, changing how these sites operate day to day.

• New Code section 39-5-6(a) defines key terms including 'online gambling,' 'casino style gaming,' 'sports betting,' 'prediction market trading,' and 'substantial portion' (more than 33.33 percent of a site's content).
• Subsection (b) requires reasonable age verification methods such as a digitized ID, government ID, or a method meeting NIST Identity Assurance Level 2 before granting access to qualifying gambling websites.
• Subsection (c) makes companies liable for damages, attorney's fees, and fines up to $10,000 per violation for failing to verify age, enforced by the Attorney General or local prosecutors within one year of the violation.
• Subsection (d) bars companies from retaining identifying information after verification and creates liability for knowingly retaining it.
• Subsection (e) exempts news broadcasts, news-gathering organizations, and cloud service providers from the requirements.
• Subsection (f) shields internet service providers from liability when they merely provide access to content they do not control.

1. 2026-02-25Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2026-02-24Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Shawn Still (R, SD-048)Primary sponsor
• Jason Anavitarte (R, SD-031)
• John Albers (R, SD-056)
• Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-032)
• Clint Dixon (R, SD-045)

• online gambling
• age verification
• internet safety
• sports betting
• consumer protection