On Tuesday, voters in Georgia will weigh in on who they think should be their next Governor at ballot boxes around the state. Both candidates stand on opposite sites of most issues, including the subject of legal sports betting in Georgia.
Right now, there are no domestic sportsbooks in GA, but that could change depending on which candidate you vote for next week.
Republican incumbent Brian Kemp has no intentions of pushing a legal sports betting agenda in GA and feels that the state’s econmic situation does not require the presence of casinos or other gambling operations.
Abrams is highlighting other surrounding legal sports betting states and their ability to siphon money from Georgians who visit their domesic sportsbooks and place wagers.
States like Tennessee, North Carolina, Mississippi, and Louisiana already feature domestic sports betting options, where revenues on these gambling activities make a sizable impact on state tax collection revenues.
These sports gambling opportunities are not restricted to locals, so tourists and visitors can freely place wagers on pro and college games as long as they meet the minimum age requirement.
Georgia residents are already partaking in sports betting, either via offshore sportsbooks or by visiting a domestic venue in another state. Those dollars spent elsewhere represent monies that could be collected in GA and used for state projects, and that’s exactly what Stacey Abrams is suggesting will happen if she becomes the next Governor.
“[Sports betting] will serve as a permanent source of revenue to underwrite broader access to education. We can afford it and we must do it. Studies projected the potential for billions to exist in economic impact funds that will not only finance our efforts to replenish and expand the Hope Scholarship, but it will also provide new economic opportunities for Georgia that can grow jobs and make our economy stronger for everyone.”
Stacey Abrams Speech Exerpt
Abrams and Kemp’s gubernatorial race from 2018 went down to the wire, with only 54,723 votes separating the two of them.
2018 GA Governer Election Results
- Brian Kemp (R): 1,978,408 Votes – 50.2%
- Stacey Abrams (D): 1,923,685 Votes – 48.8%
- Ted Metz (L): 37,235 Votes – 0.9%
While Abrams came up short in 2018, she remains an influential political figure in Georgia, and her support of Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in 2021 helped flip the state from red to blue.
Online political sportsbooks have produced betting odds for Georgia’s 2022 gubernatorial elections, and Brian Kemp appears poised for a certain victory.
2022 Georgia Gubernatorial Odds To Win
- Brian Kemp (R) -2500
- Stacey Abrams (D) +800
Brian Kemp is favored so heavily in the odds that a bet of $25 is required just to win a dollar in net profits. Abrams +800 moneyline will reward gamblers with 8-to-1 gains if she ends up pulling off the upset next week.
These odds convert to a 96% probability of Governor Kemp winning another term. Political prediction website PredictIt is also forecasting a similar outcome, with Kemp sporting a 94% chance of winning.
No matter which side of the political spectrum your beliefs fall on, if you are in favor of domestic sports betting in Georgia, Abrams is the only choice.
Source – Georgia Public Broadcasting, BetOnline, The Atlanta Voice, PredictIt
