Vote stalls plan to legalize sports betting in Georgia until 2028

The Georgia House of Representatives rejected House Resolution 450 at 11:57 p.m. ET on Friday, ending plans to place legalized sports betting before voters in November. The resolution failed 98-63, short of the two-thirds majority needed for a constitutional amendment.

HR 450 required two-thirds approval in both chambers to appear on the ballot. Backers had hoped a cross-party coalition would secure the threshold in the House, but the vote fell apart after Rep. Al Williams of Midway, the president-elect of the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States and an original co-sponsor, opposed the measure. Republicans split 49-49; Democrats provided 14 yes votes and 49 no votes.

Williams, first elected in 2002, spoke on the House floor for about nine minutes and objected to the process used to craft the resolution. He said Democrats were excluded from discussions over how tax revenue from sports betting would be allocated and referenced recent changes to the HOPE Scholarship as a reason the state needs clear funding plans. “I’m against the way this was handled,” he told members.

Proponents said the proposal included funding for pre-kindergarten programs at Democratic request. Some supporters told colleagues Williams wanted casino authorization tied to the bill and that disagreement over that issue contributed to his change of position. Other lawmakers who originally backed the measure were persuaded to switch votes to avoid exposure to primary challenges.

Rep. Matt Reeves, a Republican from Duluth, carried HR 450 after the initial sponsor stepped down last year. Sponsors planned to direct tax revenue from wagering toward education programs, including the Georgia HOPE Scholarship and pre-K expansion, to build bipartisan support. Disputes over revenue distribution and the legislative process proved decisive during the final hours before the Legislature’s crossover deadline.

Because constitutional amendments in Georgia can appear on the ballot only in even-numbered years, a new sports-betting question cannot go before voters until November 2028. That timeline would delay any legal sports wagering operations in the state until at least 2029.

While retail and online sports betting remain illegal in Georgia, prediction markets are available to residents, and operators including FanDuel and DraftKings have established prediction-market platforms accessible in the state. The defeat of HR 450 leaves the state’s gaming policy unresolved and postpones consideration of a major revenue-focused proposal until the next eligible ballot cycle.