Georgia wagering legislation failed in 2023, but gambling backers in two other cities in the region—North Carolina and South Carolina—have made significant progress.
Residents of states in the South have historically been more reluctant to legalize most forms of gambling compared to their counterparts in other parts of the U.S. And while Tennessee’s legalization of mobile betting in 2019 and its launch in 2021 didn’t immediately sway the needle all across the states, the efforts in the Carolinas may provide a blueprint for success for Georgia wagering initiatives next year.
New york progress
North Carolina appears to be on the verge of mobile wagering legalization after the state House of Representatives recently voted to approve legislation on the issue. The state Senate approved a similar measure in 2021, and Gov. Roy Cooper has indicated his eagerness to sign a gambling bill into law.
While it’s unclear when the Senate will take up a vote on the House bill, the plan is for the first legal bets to be taken on March 8, 2024, for the NCAA college basketball championship game that day.
North Carolina legalized in-person betting at tribal casinos in 2019, and two western North Carolina casinos began taking bets in 2021. The third casino, Catawba Two Kings Casino in the greater Charlotte area, started accepting bets last fall and is the only such site within 100 miles of the state’s largest cities.
However, the lack of controversy over the gambling legalization may have softened the opposition of some reluctant lawmakers to advance the online sports betting bill.
The North Carolina bill, if passed in the Senate without amendments, would allow betting on professional and college sports, the Olympics, and eSports. Discussions on the other three markets are ongoing in U.S. statehouses and sometimes delay or even derail legalization efforts.
The tax rate has tentatively been set at 14%, around the national average, and the legislation provides for promotional rebates, which do impact tax revenues in the early stages. Betting on horse racing, however, would still be prohibited. Up to 10 “interactive sports wagering operators” would be allowed to obtain a license, leaving enough room for all the major sportsbooks to have a chance to enter the North Carolina market.
Tax revenue would go to sports departments for public universities and towards attracting more major sports events to the state.
South Carolina advancement
South Carolina wagering is more relevant to some Georgians because citizens of cities such as Savannah and Augusta live so close to the state line that crossing the border and placing legal bets is easy.
Residents of far northern Georgia already have the option to visit the two western North Carolina casinos to place legal bets. However, the population of potential bettors in Georgia is more focused on the South Carolina border.
While North Carolina lawmakers have been dealing with sports betting issues for several years, the recent approval by the South Carolina House Ways and Means Revenue Policy Subcommittee of mobile-only sports betting marks the first time such gambling has gained traction in the state.
The bill is now headed to a vote by the entire House Ways and Means Committee.
Up to six sportsbook licenses would be available, with the Darlington Raceway NASCAR track and the PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage event among the potential licensees.
The tax rate would be a modest 10%, and the state would allow tax rebates on promotional offers. The legal age to gamble would be 18 years old, not 21 years old as is more typical in the U.S.
Some of the resistance to gambling legalization often stems from concerns that it would lead to an increase in financial distress for state residents, such as personal bankruptcies and even suicide.
It sometimes takes years to explain that while such concerns are well-founded, illegal gambling is so prevalent in every state that opposition to legal, regulated gambling does not prevent these issues from happening anyway.
Will Atlanta keep tempo?
If South Carolina sports betting continues to gain momentum, Georgia may be looking at legal online betting in some of its several neighboring states. Will that be enough to encourage the Peach State to keep pace, or will the strength of the Georgia economy, coupled with the state’s longstanding gambling opponents, entrench the state in the current restrictive gaming issues?
John Brennan has covered the progression of legal sports betting since New Jersey voters approved a ballot question in 2011. He covered the lawsuit by the NFL and four other sports organizations against the state from 2012-2018, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down PASPA. Since then, Brennan has tracked betting legalization efforts in every state, including Georgia.
