Braves president expresses support for Georgia gambling legislation

One of the hot topics around baseball right now is sports gambling, but you wouldn't know it if you watched the Atlanta Braves.

The state of Georgia has been one of only twelve states that have not had legalized sports gambling, but there's currently a bipartisan push to change that.

And the Atlanta Braves approve, as team president Derek Schiller expressed in a statement.

"The Braves are excited about the opportunity to bring mobile sports betting to Georgia,," begins the statement from Schiller, as shared by AJC political reporter Greg Bluestein. "Like an overwhelming majority of voters from across the state who support legalizing mobile sports betting, we are glad to see tat revenue generated will go towards funding important programs like Pre-K and the HOPE scholarship."

Schiller's referring to the current version of the legislation, as introduced by Republican state senator Clint Dixon and co-sponsored by House Minority Leader Gloria Butler, a Democrat, that's currently working its way through the legislature.

It would call for sports betting to be ultimately under the purview of the Georgia Lottery Corporation, with the estimated $30M to $100M in taxes and fees to come from the legislation to be earmarked for the HOPE Scholarship, Pre-K programs, and needs-based student aid programs.

Governor Brian Kemp is reportedly in favor of the current bill and intends to sign the bill if it makes it to his desk, which would only require a simply majority as currently written.

The legislation, which is also backed by the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and several of the pro teams in the area, isn't a guarantee that sports betting will be live in Georgia by the 2024 season, though. There is some belief that the state's Constitution would required an amendment to be passed to legalize sports gambling, which would require both a two-thirds vote in the Legislature and majority approval by the state's voters in a statewide referendum.

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