Chris Boline
The long wait for people wanting sports betting in Georgia doesn’t look like it’s going to be coming to a close in the near future. Instead, we may have to wait two more years for things to get rocking in terms of people finally being able to make some wagers on their favorite sports teams, as Georgia sports betting may not come until 2024. There was hope that a bill would pass this year and things could move forward.
Instead, that’s not the case. Earlier in the process, a bill to try and get sports betting in Florida didn’t pass. To make matters worse, not a single vote came in to support it from government officials. This was incredibly disappointing to see for the state’s citizens, as they had been holding out hope that something would have gotten done.
Remember that a bill also failed in 2021, pushing things back another year. Then with things not going through for 2022 either, a report has stated that it’s now looking like 2024 will now likely be the earliest that sports betting gets to Georgia. We don’t have to tell you how frustrating this is, as people are now going to have to wait even longer for some good news to potentially arrive.
However, who’s to say 2024 will be the year that this happens? What has people concerned in Georgia is that the state has now swung and missed in back-to-back years trying to put together a plan to legalize sports betting. Who’s to say the same won’t be repeated next year. Because of the uncertainty, the future of sports betting for Georgia couldn’t be less clear. This is not good whatsoever.
Stick a fork in Georgia gambling expansion for the year. From a sports betting standpoint, they'll either have to pursue a different route for legislation next year (i.e. not a constitutional amendment) or wait until November 2024 to put a question to voters. https://t.co/eUiS6dNu4U
— Matt Carey (@MattCareyGC) April 5, 2022
No sports betting for college football season will cost millions
Looking ahead to this fall, it’s obvious and quite clear that no sports betting for college football season will cost millions for the state. As we’ve seen across the country, the more sports betting that gets done, the more revenue that comes in for a respective spot. Georgia is losing loads of money by sitting on its hands when it comes to the legalization of sports betting.
Starting in August with training camp, the state is taken over by college football. The Georgia Bulldogs are loved by just about everyone around and there’s plenty of excitement for Kirby Smart’s team this year. Last season, the Bulldogs won the National Championship, taking down Alabama in a game to remember. Smart was able to beat Nick Saban and no one has stopped talking about it.
Looking ahead to the 2022 campaign, countless people will be checking out the college football odds and seeing who will be going up and down in terms of winning it all. Georgia is once again expected to be in the mix, despite them losing loads of talented players. This includes pass-rusher Travon Walker, who was taken No. 1 overall in the 2022 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Despite players of Walker’s caliber moving on to the NFL, Georgia will most definitely be a team to watch from start to finish this season. Because of this, people in Georgia would have loved to been able to place bets on the team after checking out the best rated sportsbooks. Instead, it’s now looking like they’ll have to wait until at least 2024 for this to even be an option. That’s a big blow for so many folks.
The times are set! 📺📅#GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/Rcf5yZu1lz
— Georgia Football (@GeorgiaFootball) May 26, 2022
Georgia citizens are not happy with so much uncertainty
As you might have been able to guess, Georgia citizens are not happy with so much uncertainty surrounding the status of sports betting. With the most recent bill dying thanks to the senate not wanting to make anything move forward. The fact that bills have been put in place and approved upon has been a great step, but it’s the people in the senate who aren’t letting anything proceed.
If you take a look on Twitter, people continue to complain that the senate is getting in the way of letting sports betting get done. People are waiting to be able to make their bets both in person and through mobile sports betting. While things would of course be popular during the college football season, as we mentioned above, plenty of bets would of course come in year-round.
The concern moving forward for this project is that senate members will keep doing everything in their power to put a block on the betting. This has been the case in recent years and now no one knows if something will change their minds. There’s hope that things could go to a vote within the public and then they can help push things over the line.
However, you never know if different lawsuits might come in to stop it too. It’s all been a mess for legal sports betting in Georgia and it doesn’t look like things are going to progress in the near future. You’ve got to feel bad for the people in the state, as they’re trying to be optimistic, but they don’t have many reasons to be.
