The Georgia capitol, via Unsplash.
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
FEB. 17, 2023 | Some things you can count on.
- You must sweep the kitchen floor quite often. Somehow, somehow, trash arrives.
- When waiting for rain to wash your car, the rain comes after it goes through the car wash.
- Kids no longer lose their homework. The computer, not the dog, now eats it.
- And each year, sports betting will be proposed in the Georgia Legislature.
Yes, it’s back again, this time with a new twist. The sports betting lobby has paid big bucks to high-jinks lawyers who maintain that, of all things, the State of Georgia can pass gambling legislation without going through a Constitutional Amendment vote by the people.
Can you believe that? Obviously, it is unconstitutional. After all, the people are the final authority on such matters, according to all challenges on this question in the past.
But no, the sports betting and its bevy of lawyers say, betting can become legal in Georgia simply because back in 1992 Georgians passed the lottery? But it did so through a Constitutional Amendment.
What? Yes, we passed the lottery, but nowhere in that legislation does it say anything about sports betting. Go look it up!
The sports betting people have brought together legislators from both sides of the aisle in an attempt to get the bill passed. The bill was introduced by Republican Billy Hickman of Statesboro, and co-authored by Gwinnett’s own Clint Dixon of Buford, plus Brandon Beach of Alpharetta, all Republicans. The two Democratic co-sponsors are Ed Harbison of Columbus and Powell Sims of Dawson, Ga.
One reason legislators have pushed for sports betting for years is that it would bring a massive new source of revenue to our state, no doubt something these same legislators would like to help spend in their communities
Then there’s this new twist. You would not have to go to a “sports parlor” or a sporting event to place a bet. Nodding to the new day, you could place bets through your cell phone, even through an old- fashioned land line, or through a kiosk at that sports venue. You could bet on professional teams, college games, or even on the Olympic Games! What! Ruin that venue, too?
You can almost hear the Department of Revenue saying: “Money, money, money.”
In the past, sports betting has been unable to get through the Legislature, because of the strict requirements to change the Georgia Constitution. The Constitutional Amendment is key, since it takes a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate to pass, before it can go to the people to vote on statewide, where only a majority is required to become law.
A Constitutional Amendment becomes harder in the Legislature, since the Republicans do not have a two-third majority in either house. Not only that, but some “real” conservative Republicans, and Democrats, oppose sports gambling. Now you see why the sports betting people are lining up behind making this a simple legislative bill to get the sports betting underway in Georgia.
You can bet your booty that sports betting will get a thorough airing by those opposed to it, drawing heavy Constitutional challenges.
By the way, here’s an interesting nuance: the sports betting proposal is being called the “Georgia Sports Betting Integrity Act!” You read that right. These proponents are trying to tie in sports betting with integrity? We somehow miss their point, and expect that most Georgians will, too.
The Legislature should not allow sports betting to be approved by this sneaky, back door approach. If it comes out of the Legislature, it should allow the people of Georgia to vote on it. May it never pass.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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