ATLANTA, Ga. – Members of the House Special Committee on Economic Growth listened to testimony last week from casino executives, horse racing industry reps, sports betting operators and others, speaking in favor of legalizing gambling in Georgia.
Wynn Resorts (famous for Las Vegas growth in its new era), Atlanta Motor Speedway, the Georgia Horse Racing Coalition were all present.
Those against the idea were also on hand.
The committee is responsible with examining the economic advantages of allowing gambling in Georgia.
Beginning on Tuesday, October 15, 2019, those in favor raised issues about the benefits of expanding legal gambling.
AJC reported Oct. 15 that House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Brett Harrell, one of a trio of chairmen tasked with examining the economic benefits of allowing gambling, said the meetings wouldn’t focus on whether Georgia should expand gaming.
Instead, the focus was to compare impacts to existing business and quality of life while looking at new industries, new revenue streams (and) new investment in the state of Georgia, AJC reported.
On Wednesday, Oct. 16, lawmakers heard from Georgia Baptist Mission Board’s Mike Griffin who warned of the negative impact legalized gambling would have on children.
During Wednesday’s testimony lawmakers heard from Mike Griffin of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, who warned of the impact on children that could come as a result of expanded legalized gambling, Valdosta CEO reported.
President and CEO of the Georgia Lottery Corp, Gretchen Corbin, testified Wednesday, giving a historical breakdown of how the lottery was accepted by the state in 1994, and how it had raised billions for education.
Corbin continued by enumerating specific perks of the passage of the Georgia Lottery, which included that over 1,000 new millionaires were created as a result and $46 million in prizes had been issued.
According to Corbin, the FY2019 profit was $63.8 million or 5.6 percent higher than in 2018. She went on to tout the impact the lottery has had on economic development in the state:
Valdosta CEO also noted that adding horse racing and casino gambling in Georgia would require voters to approve a constitutional amendment that would allow such an expansion, which would require a two-thirds vote in each chamber.
