Georgia Democrat gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams is once again attempting to leveraging the emerge of sports betting as component part of her bid to unseat incumbent Republican River Gov. Brian Kemp.
Looking to capitalize on the come out of the 2022 college football game harden and the immense popularity of the defending subject defend GA Bulldogs inward the state, Abrams unveiled a new online safari ad, taking Kemp to task for opposing regulated sports betting.
While Georgians allay place bets, Kemp is forcing them come out of country to make out it, taking the assess dollars with them,” according to the spot.
In their 2018 matchup that Kemp narrowly won, he opposed sports betting, but his attitude now is that he has no position, according to a spokesman. It’s non uncommon for officeholder governors to occupy that stance. For example, California is inwards the midst of a contentious commercial/tribal sports betting ballot defend and Gov. Gavin Newsom — a Democrat whose political science are polar opposites of Kemp’s — is staying come out of the fight.
Fact Checking Abrams
Abrams’ take that Georgians are leaving the res publica to localize sports bets may feature some merit. Since the 2018 Supreme Court ruling on the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), politicians claiming residents inward their tell are sledding to another to take a leak sports play is a frequently deployed tactic and that has some credibility.
However, of trey states bordering Georgia, only Tennessee River offers wandering sports betting. The Volunteer State’s butt is a lengthy driving from Fulton County — Georgia’s to the highest degree thickly settled county. It’s a 250-mile drive to Nashville from Atlanta.
Point is some Georgians belike are driving to Tennessee River to property sports bets, but the extent to which that is happening in all probability isn’t corresponding to the New York-to-New island of Jersey trips that were so vernacular prior to the former legalizing wandering betting.
Paid for past One Peach State Inc., the advertizement says Abrams, if elected, testament act to legitimize sports betting “to adorn inward teaching for our offspring people.”
In Georgia, lottery spending funds the HOPE college scholarship program. But as Sakartvelo has added population, HOPE is only funding 70% of recipients’ university costs. That shortfall has prompted some politicians to pitch casinos and sports betting as avenues for filling the void.
Georgia Gaming History Is Rough
Beyond the lottery, the province has long been against other regulated forms of gaming, including commercial message and tribal casinos and sports betting. The 2022 legislative session of the state’s General Assembly concluded in April with no concrete action on casinos and sports wagering.
In Georgia, sports betting failed to clear traction inward recent legislative sessions despite support from capital of Georgia pro sports teams, including the NFL’s Falcons and the NBA’s Hawks.
Sen. Jeff Mullis — a Republican River that antecedently proposed Peach State sports betting statute law — estimated bettors in the say could generate an yearbook hold of $4.8 billion, leading to revenue enhancement revenue of most $360 million.