Georgia Votes on Casino Bill
Later this week Georgia might make their first step towards legalizing casinos through Senate Bill 79 and Senate Resolution 249 proposed by Senator Brandon Beach. The resolution and the bill aim to allow the construction of two casinos in the state of Georgia. The bill will be presented before the Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee first and should it pass, the only thing left will be to get the green light from the Senate.
The legislators in Georgia are determined to legalize casinos, therefore they are starting the year with a new bill which would regulate the terms and condition under which the two predicted casinos would be constructed and operated. Considering the fact that in order to make casinos legal in the state, it would be enough to amend the current legislation that imposes ban on casinos, Senator Beach has introduced Senate Resolution 249 as well. The resolution would be enough to lift the ban, however, detailed regulations must be defined through a new act of law.
Senate Bill 79 proposes the construction of two casinos – one in Atlanta and the other one in Savannah or Georgia coast. The former will have to meet the requirement of being worth $2 billion or more. There will be a 20% tax on annual gambling revenue, while 50% of their income would have to be generated through non-gambling services.
The main reason why the lawmakers in Georgia are advocating for the legalization of casinos is to boost the budget for scholarship program HOPE currently sponsored by lottery. According to SB 79 30% of the tax levy paid by casino operators will be spent on merit based scholarships (HOPE program), 30% would be spent on needs-based scholarship, while the rest will go to healthcare.
The bill and the resolution will be proposed before Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee on Thursday. In case of a favorable outcome, the bill is passed to the Senate for voting and the number of votes Beach will need is 29. Even if this happens the decision process will not be over yet. Once the locations are determined the residents of the areas will have their say on a referendum vote.
Opponents of legalizing casinos will definitely stand against this proposal and, as they did before, try to thwart these attempts. Nevertheless, Beach firmly believes that the bill will pass the Senate and that the state of Georgia will have two new casino resorts.
There is no mention of letting the casinos offer internet gambling, though this would be the next logical step. Should the revenue from casinos start flowing, there is no doubt that the lawmakers will consider exploiting the popularity of USA online casinos and online casino games. As Atlantic City has learned the online side of the business is where the growth is and was Atlantic City’s only increase in revenue for 10 years.
