ATLANTA — Legislative supporters of legalizing sports betting in Georgia are trying something different this year.
To avoid amending the pesky state Constitution, which requires a two-thirds vote of the Georgia House and Senate, lawmakers in both chambers are pushing bills that would allow online sports betting by statute. Adding sports betting to Georgia law without a constitutional change would need only a simple majority vote in the House and Senate.
But skeptics are warning that doing an end run around the Georgia Constitution runs the risk of lawsuits tying up the state in court and needlessly delaying sports betting from taking effect.
Lawmakers backing the statute route are armed with a new legal opinion from former Georgia Chief Justice Harold Melton asserting that a constitutional amendment is unnecessary. In a 10-page memorandum requested by the Metro Atlanta Chamber — a key supporter of bringing sports betting to Georgia — Melton contends that sports betting can be classified as a form of lottery, already legal in Georgia under the 1992 constitutional amendment that created the Georgia Lottery.
Melton cites a Georgia Court of Appeals ruling that declared three ingredients — prize, chance, and consideration — are legally required to constitute a lottery.
“Bettors pay a fee (the consideration) to enter the betting scheme with the hope of winning money (the prize),” he wrote.
Melton continued that establishing the element of “chance” may be a “closer question” than the prize or consideration. Nonetheless, he concludes that chance is present in sports betting.
“Although a bettor may exercise some skill in picking a particular team or athlete as the winner, the actual determination of a winner is entirely dependent on the ultimate performance of the teams or player,” he wrote.
A bill before the state…
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