HB1197: HB1197 Georgia Lottery for Education Act; authorize certain billiards and darts tournaments and prizes

Georgia's Lottery for Education Act regulates coin operated amusement machines found in bars, convenience stores, and similar businesses, including how winnings can be redeemed. This bill adds a new provision letting a location that already has a contract for these machines also run billiards or darts tournaments on site, with prizes limited to gift cards or other noncash redemption. It defines billiards and darts and lets the Georgia Lottery Corporation write rules to implement the tournaments. The bill also standardizes discipline across several sections of the law into a progressive system: a warning for a first offense, a fine for a second, suspension and a fine for a third, and suspension, revocation, or a fine for later offenses. It requires the corporation to build a system by July 1, 2027 to track and report noncash redemptions. It moves appeals of corporation decisions, and appeals of hearing officer rulings in disputes between master licensees and location owners or operators, to the Metro Atlanta Business Case Division of the Superior Court of Fulton County. It would take effect when signed by the Governor.

• Authorizes location owners or operators with coin operated amusement machine contracts to hold billiards or darts tournaments and award gift card or other noncash prizes to winners.
• Directs the Georgia Lottery Corporation to write rules and regulations to carry out the new tournament authorization.
• Requires progressive discipline (warning, then fine, then suspension and fine, then suspension or revocation) for violations across multiple sections covering machine licensing, redemption rules, and location owner penalties.
• Requires the corporation to build a tracking and reporting system by July 1, 2027 for noncash lottery product redemptions from the machines.
• Moves appeals of corporation and chief executive officer decisions, and of hearing officer rulings in master licensee disputes, to the Metro Atlanta Business Case Division of the Superior Court of Fulton County.
• Changes the chief executive officer's authority to delegate hearing duties from optional ('may') to mandatory ('shall').

Bars, convenience stores, and other businesses that host coin operated amusement machines (location owners and operators), the master licensees who supply the machines, the Georgia Lottery Corporation and its hearing officers, and the Superior Court of Fulton County, which would handle more of these appeals.

Businesses with these machines would gain a new way to draw customers through tournament play, while facing a clearer, standardized penalty scale for violations. Moving appeals to a specific Fulton County court division and requiring new redemption tracking could change how disputes are resolved and how closely redemptions are monitored statewide.

• Section 1 adds a new subsection (p) to O.C.G.A. § 50-27-71 authorizing billiards and darts tournaments at locations with amusement machine contracts, defining the games and limiting prizes to gift cards or noncash redemption.
• Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 50-27-71.1 to spell out allowed redemption forms for Class A and Class B machines and adds a progressive discipline scale, plus a new subsection requiring a redemption tracking system by July 1, 2027.
• Section 3 revises O.C.G.A. § 50-27-73(c) on license refusal, suspension, and revocation, adding the same progressive discipline requirement.
• Section 4 revises O.C.G.A. § 50-27-76 to route appeals of corporation or chief executive officer decisions to the Metro Atlanta Business Case Division of the Superior Court of Fulton County.
• Section 5 revises O.C.G.A. § 50-27-81(c) to make delegation of hearing authority to a hearing officer mandatory rather than optional.
• Section 6 revises O.C.G.A. § 50-27-82(a) on criminal violations and machine seizures, adding the progressive discipline scale.
• Section 7 revises O.C.G.A. § 50-27-85(a) on penalties for location owners or operators, adding the progressive discipline scale.
• Section 8 revises O.C.G.A. § 50-27-102(c) on disputes between master licensees and location owners or operators, sending hearing officer decisions on appeal directly to the Metro Atlanta Business Case Division of the Superior Court of Fulton County.

1. 2026-02-24House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
2. 2026-02-09House Second Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-06House First Readers (House)
4. 2026-02-05House Hopper (House)

• Alan Powell (R, HD-033)Primary sponsor
• Rick Jasperse (R, HD-011)
• David Wilkerson (D, HD-038)
• Mary Oliver (D, HD-084)
• Kasey Carpenter (R, HD-004)
• Derrick McCollum (R, HD-030)

• coin operated amusement machines
• Georgia Lottery Corporation
• billiards and darts tournaments
• gambling regulation
• Fulton County courts