Georgia Lawmakers Are Pushing for Legal Betting After a Huge SEC Season

You just had a feeling that when it comes to Georgia sports betting news, lawmakers and officials were going to be worried about illegal activity during the NCAA football season, but also look at the popularity of things to try and make a case for why legal activity should be permitted. That’s exactly what has happened thanks to a monster 2023 campaign. With that said, the fact is indeed that Georgia lawmakers are pushing for legal betting after a huge SEC season.

The regular season has come and gone and the SEC Championship game took place last weekend. Unfortunately for the in-state fans, the Georgia Bulldogs, at the time ranked the No. 1 team in the country, suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide in that title game. Because of that loss, Georgia was left out of the College Football Playoff, while Alabama was able to grab the No. 4 seed.

This is just one of those years where — there’s been other years like this, where somebody that may have been deserving got left out, and Florida State certainly going undefeated was — did everything they could to get in the playoffs, and unfortunately, probably because of the injury to the quarterback, they’re not going to have that opportunity,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said on making the CFP.

While Georgia is out of the race to win the National Championship this year, that doesn’t mean that there’s not going to be a lot of NCAAF betting attention all over the state with the semifinals coming in less than a month. We’ve seen how popular college football is in Georgia and people would love the opportunity to place legal wagers on the Bulldogs and other SEC teams. The hope is that it will arrive soon enough.

Illegal Falcons betting continues to be a concern for officials

While a lot of focus is on the college game these days, it’s important to keep in mind that illegal Falcons betting continues to be a concern for officials. While Atlanta hasn’t had the year that people were hoping for, they’re coming off a 13-8 win over the New York Jets this past weekend. In that victory, the defense looked fantastic, causing quarterback Tim Boyle to not only have a bad day, but be replaced in the second half.

The Falcons may not be a powerhouse in the NFC, but the fact of the matter is that they have a ton of young talent. The list includes tight end Kyle Pitts and running back Bijan Robinson. Robinson was a 2023 first-round pick and he’s living up to the hype. He’s a playmaker who can turn heads running the ball, while also catching the ball out of the backfield. It will be interesting to see how he develops moving forward.

“We work on getting better all the time,” Robinson said after the win over New York. “Desmond (Ridder) will say let’s get some work in after practice. We focus on getting our timing down better. I also aim to improve on my routes. Most importantly, we find the connection that we need. We know how passes to all the running backs can translate into explosive plays. It can be a check down, crossing route, or something more vertical.”

Because of the star players the Falcons have, people all over Georgia are checking the NFL betting odds to see if this team still has any hope of making the postseason. While things aren’t looking good there, you never know what might happen during the final stretch of the campaign. If the Falcons do somehow find a way to sneak in, then people will only be more intrigued by the playoffs once they get here.

Local fans are following the Atlanta Braves offseason closely

It goes without saying, but local fans are following the Atlanta Braves offseason closely. In terms of MLB betting, Georgia is going to see massive numbers once things are legalized. The Braves are one of the most historic teams in the bigs, as they have a fantastic culture. Atlanta, throughout the 2023 season, had the No. 1 World Series betting odds, but they weren’t able to get the job done in the playoffs.

The Braves watched the Phillies take care of business against them in what turned out to be a massive upset. Now, though, stars like Ronald Acuna Jr., Matt Olson, Austin Riley and others are looking forward to the 2024 campaign, as they’re going to have a lot of revenge on their minds. Will they be able to make it happen?

It really depends on how things go in free agency. There are a lot of big names out there looking for new homes this winter and the pressure is going to be on the Atlanta front office to bring in some new talent. Fans are worried that the Braves are going to sit back and let teams like the Dodgers sign some of the top guys out there. We can only hope the Braves don’t make this kind of mistake.

Peter Lewis

Peter Lewis Jr. comes from Mississippi where he and his family spend their days discussing college football, baseball and basketball. He's written sports journalism for years after studying journalism at a local university. Over time, Peter has cultivated extensive knowledge covering sports betting legislation across the country. He closely tracks the latest regulatory developments and provides key insights into their impacts. Peter also offers sharp MLB betting analysis, leveraging stats and trends to identify value on matchups.