Georgia
Georgia lawmakers push for online sports betting legalization
ATLANTA – State Rep. Marcus Wiedower, R-Watkinsville, is sponsoring legislation aimed at legalizing online sports betting in Georgia.
It is the latest push to legalize online sports betting in Georgia.
Online sports betting in Georgia
What we know:
State lawmakers in Georgia are making a concerted effort to legalize online sports betting. The initiative is spearheaded by Rep. Wiedower, who is sponsoring House Bill 686 and House Resolution 450. If these pieces of legislation pass, Georgians will have the opportunity to vote on whether to join other states in allowing online sports betting. The revenue generated from this initiative would be directed to the Georgia Lottery, with funds earmarked for Pre-K education, the HOPE Scholarship, and support for individuals with gambling addictions.
Rep. Wiedower sponsoring sports betting bill
What they’re saying:
Rep. Wiedower emphasized the need for regulation, stating, “We have no ability to regulate the bad actors, people that are getting in bad situations. We simply are trying to rein that in, bring tax dollars in the states, allow for that money to go directly to education.” Co-sponsoring the legislation are Rep. Matt Reeves (R-Duluth) and Rep. Stacey Evans (D-Atlanta). Rep. Reeves highlighted the benefits of the initiative, saying, “This initiative will give the funding to have Pre-K which will teach our young people to read, particularly for those who English is a second language, that’s going to help with workforce, help with childcare, if a child is in pre-k their parent can work during that time. There are a lot of good things about this.”
Opposition to online sports gambling
The other side:
Opposition to the legislation is strong, particularly from the Georgia Baptist Mission Board. Mike Griffin, representing the organization, has been vocal in urging lawmakers to reject the proposal. “There is no way you can sanctify moral manure and that is what gambling is, it’s legalized fraud,” Griffin told reporters. “This is detrimental. This is going to be putting gasoline on a dumpster fire that’s already burning in our state. Why do we want to make it worse?”
Future of HB 686 and HR 450
What’s next:
The fate of online sports betting in Georgia hinges on the passage of House Bill 686 and House Resolution 450. If successful, the decision will ultimately be placed in the hands of Georgia voters. As the debate continues, both supporters and opponents are making their voices heard, highlighting the potential benefits and drawbacks of legalizing online sports betting in the state.
SEE ALSO:
The Source: FOX 5’s Deidra Dukes spoke with State Rep. Marcus Wiedower, R-Watkinsville, and Mike Griffin of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board.
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USA Today Network
Kirk Fordice-like Rick Jackson is sounding a whole lot like Daniel Kirkwood Fordice as he tries to be elected Georgia’s next governor.
Fordice came out of nowhere — actually, Vicksburg is somewhere but you know what I mean — in 1991 to become a two-term Mississippi governor.
He had money but nothing like Jackson, a billionaire businessman who’s also trying to emerge from nowhere politically to win Georgia’s top office.
“The establishment hated Trump, because they couldn’t control him. They are going to hate me,” Jackson says in an ad for Georgia’s Republican Primary on May 19, sounding like one of my favorite Mississippi governors — Fordice, because of his unpredictable personality (he could vilify or charm you, all in one sentence), not his politics. He died in 2004 of cancer.
I stood by a cafe entrance one morning, waiting to cover a Fordice speech. When he appeared, I stuck out my hand to shake his. “I’m not shaking your damn hand. You’re part of the problem down there (referring to the newspaper),” he told me, smiling and moving on.
Jackson rose to become one of economic giant-Georgia’s wealthiest people. He came from Atlanta’s rough midtown area, ending up in the foster care system. He left college due to poor financial circumstances.
The 71-year-old Jackson wormed his way into the dynamic city’s business scene in the late 1970s, mostly of the healthcare variety with mixed success before starting a workforce staffing and services company and later an antibiotics manufacturing plant. He turned those businesses into billion-dollar enterprises.
“It’s God’s money,” he said in rural Blakely, and he’s been charitable with it.
Jackson doesn’t try to hide his vast wealth. His family lives in a 48,000-square-foot mansion at Cumming, a place of nearly 100,000 people near Atlanta in Forsyth County, which once promoted its almost all-white population as a virtue.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Bill Torpy recently wrote that Jackson will spend a ton of his own money in seeking another mansion, the one occupied by Georgia’s governor. Torpy noted that present Lt. Gov. Burt Jones was once heavily favored to win the primary race, but he’s fallen behind Jackson’s bold money bid.
“The one-time front-runner in the Republican primary (Jones) has been relegated to No. 2, the result of a $100 million Mack truck running him over.
Rick Jackson, a billionaire healthcare tycoon, a man with a sly smile and reptilian gaze, is the guy driving that truck,” Torpy wrote.
The GOP field includes Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger, who spurned Trump’s demand to find 11,780 votes that would’ve allowed him to win Georgia in 2020.
Fordice was effective with some bombastic rhetoric during his run for governor, but I don’t remember it reaching the histrionic level employed by Jackson. In a major ad blitz, often referencing (Georgia college student) Laken Riley’s murderer, Jackson promises that unauthorized immigrants committing violent crimes will be “deported or departed … any questions?”
In another ad, Jackson growled, “Like President Trump, I don’t owe anybody anything, and like you, I’m sick of career politicians.”
Fordice spent only $1 million to get himself elected Mississippi’s governor. He somewhat sneaked up on the establishment, riding no escalator to the first floor of his Vicksburg concrete river mats-contracting office to declare his intentions. Who could ever forget his announcement seeking the governorship that ran on page 5 of the Clarion Ledger?
Recent polling ahead of Georgia’s May primaries for governor shows the eventual Republican nominee faces a strong Democrat in the November general election, most likely former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. That’ll require another whole pot of money.
— Mac Gordon, a native of McComb, is a retired Mississippi newspaperman. He can be reached at macmarygordon@gmail.com.
Gulfstream recently announced a $5 million investment in Georgia education, welcoming students and leaders to its Savannah headquarters.
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