Chris Boline
When it comes to the constant discussion on Georgia sports betting, people are furious that no changes were able to be made for 2022. Now, though, there’s some serious hope that things might be able to be switched for 2023. We should find out soon enough just how serious lawmakers are about this, but the good news is that a lot of people in the office are open to it. With this, the big news came in with the update that the Atlanta mayor spoke out in favor of Georgia sports betting.
Indeed, Mayor Andre Dickens voiced his thoughts on sports betting in the state, as he understands it’s a major revenue possibility for the state. This would obviously be huge for Atlanta, as it’s a huge city in the state with big sports teams. People love the Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta Hawks, and more. People would love to be able to make legal bets on those teams. They won’t want to wait anymore.
“It’s something that I’m looking at as it progresses and goes through the state legislature,” Dickens said recently. “I’ll be sober and open-minded about it. I understand we do have great operators in this city, such as FanDuel and others, that are doing it online, and they provide jobs in our community. If there is more sports betting that can happen in our city in an organized fashion, we also need the social safety nets surrounding it.”
As you can see from that quote from Dickens, it’s clear that sports betting in Atlanta would be welcomed with open arms. Again, with so many major teams, the legalization would bring in a lot more people to Atlanta and the surrounding areas. It’d also be big for local businesses and the city’s economy as a whole. If betting does arrive in 2023, then we’d see a lot of happy people in the area, that’s for sure.
Legal betting in Atlanta would be massive this fall
It goes without saying, but legal betting in Atlanta would be massive this fall. With it being football season and everything in full swing, people are checking the NFL betting odds consistently and they’re interested to see how the Atlanta Falcons are doing each weekend. Thus far, things have been quite up and down for the Falcons, which was expected as this team is in the middle of a rebuild.
With the NFL as a whole, though, there’s always an unreal amount of attention that goes to all the different teams. After Week 6, there’s so much intrigue for several different teams. This of course, includes the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, and more. While the Falcons have been inconsistent with their play, this doesn’t mean other bets (elsewhere) aren’t going down elsewhere.
The Eagles have seen their Super Bowl odds skyrocket thanks to their 6-0 start. Jalen Hurts is in the middle of an unreal season, and fans are jacked up about his style of play. Moving forward, more and more people are going to be checking out their odds and betting on them. However, that isn’t the case in Georgia, as people are waiting to see what will end up happening in the future.
With Dickens open to things coming to fruition, this is only going to add to more people hoping for the change to come soon, hopefully by 2023. There are countless people who have been pushing for this for a while, yet nothing has been able to get across the finish line. In the next 12 months, folks are going to keep asking for a change to come. Only time will tell if good news arrives or not.
There is just something different about this team pic.twitter.com/sjNh1gdnSZ
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) October 17, 2022
Governor candidate Stacey Abrams keeps addressing sports betting in her campaign
What has a lot of people talking right now is that gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams keeps addressing sports betting in her campaign. She and Brian Kemp continue to go toe to toe in this race, and things will reach a new level this week with their debates. One major topic of conversation will surely be the legalization of sports betting in Georgia, as Abrams is all for it right now.
There’s a lot of opposition, though, as not everyone is on Abrams’ side. She’s been vocal about sports betting for a while now, but this has also led to a lot of the voters speaking against her. As you can see, there’s a lot of division when it comes to sports betting. A good chunk of people is all for it, including Abrams. On the flip side of this, though, there are countless citizens who don’t want to see it passed.
This is all something that will continue to be discussed in the coming weeks, especially leading up to voting day. If Abrams wins this battle, then more and more people are going to be ready to see her put her words into action to make things legal. This is all a wait-and-see, but with so many in her corner, things feel like they could be moving in the right direction.
At a forum hosted by the Savannah NAACP, @staceyabrams touts her plan to legalize casino gambling and sports betting to create needs-based college scholarships. “We owe it to the citizens of Georgia to invest in our people.” #gapol pic.twitter.com/nSFvFkN0lN
— Greg Bluestein (@bluestein) October 13, 2022
