Legalized Betting Backed by Major Atlanta Sports Teams

Atlanta Sports Teams Lobby for Legalized Sports Betting in Georgia

By Lisa Spencer Senior Editor Updated: 12 November 2019

Lisa Spencer Senior Editor

As a Senior Editor at Betting.US, Lisa Spencer is a valuable member of our expert team. With a Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics, Lisa is adept in gambling theory and analyzing odds. She contributes by writing online sportsbook reviews and finding competitive markets to help our readers make an informed choice.

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Why Do They Want Legalized Betting?

The President of the Atlanta Braves – Derek Schiller – noted that this is the first time in which the franchises have come together on an issue regarding policy. He told lawmakers that Georgia is the 12th largest state when it comes to illegal wagering (placing bets with sportsbooks that don’t hold a valid betting license), and he warns that this is not going to go away any time soon.

Schiller states that this is one of the key reasons why sports betting should be legal in Georgia – so as to ensure illegal, black market bookmakers aren’t able to operate any more.

Speaking to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Schiller said the main goal of the Georgia Professional Sports Integrity Alliance is:

Ensuring this activity — that is happening — gets regulated in the right way and for us, most importantly, that we ensure that the integrity of the sport is preserved.

Lawmakers May Not Be So Keen, However

However, it should be noted that Georgia is – politically – an anti-gambling state. They’ve already tried, for many years, to expand legal gambling through a specially crafted constitutional amendment. The problem is, this amendment requires two-thirds support in the Legislature. It also needs to have a majority of Georgia voters on board. However, the coalition noted that with the right legislation in place, a law could be passed that pleases both sides of the debate.

Billy Linbille – a lobbyist who is representing the four teams – said that the teams themselves would not be looking to generate any revenue from sports betting. He says their determination is purely to allow punters to engage more with the games. They believe that this will help to drive viewership of the sporting events, while also increasing “buzz” around the games themselves.

However, there’s opposition – and Virginia Galloway, a lobbyist with the Georgia Faith and Freedom Coalition said that she was really disappointed that four of Atlanta’s biggest sports teams were pushing lawmakers to legalize sports betting.

She says that it’s “sad” that these great American teams want to bring in a “predatory gambling business to take advantage of their fans.” However, she fails to mention how it’s predatory, nor the fact that the teams have stated that they don‘t want to profit from sports betting.

It’s clear there’s a divide in Georgia – a notoriously conservative state. However, the message from the unified sports teams is a major step towards the legalization of sports betting in the state. Whether pro-betting advocates can shift the views of more conservative members of the Legislature and public however remains to be seen.