In states like Georgia, the laws still need to be expanded so that gambling is legal, laws that must go beyond the lottery. However, that did not prevent representatives of the global gaming industry from showing their business to lawmakers.
Last Tuesday, during the business parade, the different casino operators, as well as the representatives of the horse industry, told the legislators panel the reason they believed that the state of Georgia should accept and make this business legal.
In the panel, the chairman of the Media and Referees Committee of the House of Representatives, Brett Harrell, pointed out that the issue of whether the games should be expanded or not in the state will not be a topic to be discussed at the next meetings.
On the other hand, Republican Snellville would have indicated that “the focus of the committee is not to discuss questions about whether a specific industry should be welcomed or not in the state,” he also clarified that the main objective is to compare the impact that the industry has with the existing businesses, where they will evaluate the new industries, the new possible sources of income, and the different investments that can be made in the state.
Experts have considered that many of the bills that have been implemented in the state of Georgia have had difficulty to gain strength, the reason why diverse representatives of the industry have shown different stories of games that have been successful in other states of the country.
Due to different laws and events, many people expect more industry representatives to share their opinion on the subject.
Georgia Faith and FreedomCoalition lobbyist, Virginia Galloway, said that possibly the next meeting would be more about sales arguments and considered that the expansion of the games could be counterproductive since it could generate addiction in the citizens of the state and therefore, generate financial problems and increase illegal activities.
So Galloway argued that “Georgia is a place too good to further expand the game … If you look at the states that allow it, those are not states we want to be in.”
The impact that can be generated economically by the expansion of gambling throughout the state has also been one of the issues that the senators are evaluating, because they believe that their expansion can generate a favorable amount of jobs, in addition to generating large earnings that would be directed to the HOPE scholarship.
For several years that idea had driven, however, changed when the governor of the state of Georgia proposed to cut those expenses and find new ways to generate income in the entity.
The complexity of the situation is due to the fact that in order to accept horse racing and gambling it would be necessary for citizens to approve it, by means of an amendment, and for that amendment to be made in the constitution, it must pass through the General Assembly, That can be a complex job because two-thirds of the camera would have to approve it.
Some groups have indicated that they oppose casino games, but as long as they can guarantee a favorable income for scholarships such as HOPE, they do not doubt that they will support the amendment. While various groups of conservatives and religious oppose strongly because they believe that the games generate crimes since they are addictive and immoral.
Other citizens do not support its expansion because they question the various predictions of economic income that are branded as flattering, especially when there is extensive competition for customers.
Chris Gordon, president of Wynn Development, was present at the opening of one of the newest casinos in Boston, which Gordon says has generated around five thousand annually and which is expected to provide approximately 201 million dollars in taxes in the entity. Gordon also invited lawmakers to review and verify the company’s history.
However, gambling in the entity is very difficult to sell, because there are a lot of conservative evangelical Christian voters, but one point that may be flattering is that the political landscape is being redirected, said Charles Bullock, a teacher from the University of Georgia.
Bullock added that the budget cuts made by the governor could cause many of the programs that were favored in the state to be reduced. The reduction and restlessness of the recession could cause lawmakers to see games as a solution in revenue, he said.
The proposal and great alternative that legalizes gambling are very strong thanks to the different pressure groups, so experts consider that there is a great possibility that casinos can open large doors that have an advantage over many theaters and another great number of entertainment establishments.