‘It’s Complicated’ Podcast: How the ‘Blue Wave’ Could Affect the 2021 GA General Assembly Session

“In [Tennessee’s] first month they were able to generate more than 100 million dollars in e-sport betting and we believe that number could be much higher in Georgia because we have a much larger sports community, we have many more professional teams, and we have lots of fans of the collegiate and professional level,” said Howard Franklin, managing partner of Ohio River South.

Georgia lawmakers return to the state capitol on Monday, January 11–less than a week after two U.S. Senate runoffs races resulted in an historic Democratic sweep in the state.

But the so-called blue wave seen in national races including President-elect Joe Biden’s win in Georgia in November, and the Jan. 5 victory of Rev. Raphael Warnock over Republican U.S. Senator Kelley Loeffler and Democrat Jon Ossoff’s win against Republican U.S. Senator David Perdue isn’t expected to change much under the Gold Dome.

“Yes, Democrats have had some big wins, but Republicans still firmly control the state, said Brian Robinson, Republican strategist and president of Robinson Republic Communications. “I think for now we will have the status quo of Republican pro-business policies.”

Lawmakers are expected to take up election reform measures on the heels of the 2020 election cycle. They could address the state’s policies for absentee ballots, voter registration and early voting.

Another measure on the legislative agenda will likely be legalizing online and mobile sports betting. Proponents see legislation as a way to tap into existing e-sports gambling activity and revenue. Supporters say it would shore up the state’s lottery-funded education programs including the HOPE scholarship.

The General Assembly has debated gambling proposals for years. But unlike past measures tied to casinos and pari-mutuel betting on horse racing, the bar to pass legislation to legalize e-sports gambling is low.

“We don’t require a constitutional two-thirds majority in the General Assembly, and we don’t require a referendum voted on by the people,” said Howard Franklin a Democratic strategist whose firm, Ohio River South, is working for the Georgia Professional Sports Integrity Alliance which supports sports betting.

The amount of revenue e-sports betting would generate in Georgia would depend on how the legislation is written, including what percentage of revenue would go to the Georgia Lottery Corp., Franklin said.

But Georgia officials are keeping a close eye on how other states, such as Tennessee, have adopted sports betting.

“In their first month of e-sports betting [Tennessee] was able to generate more than $100 million,” Franklin said. “We believe that number can be much higher in Georgia because we have a larger sports community and more professional teams.”

Other topics in this episode of “It’s Complicated: Doing Business During Coronavirus:
• Top business headlines for the week of January 8
• Duda Paine Architects on post-pandemic office design
• Atlanta Business Chronicle upcoming virtual events

It’s Complicated is a podcast produced by the Atlanta Business Chronicle.