ATLANTA — A special committee has possibly given lawmakers the cover they need to expand gambling in the state.
Among its recommendations, the Senate Study Committee on Making Georgia the No. 1 State for Tourism said Peach State leaders should legalize mobile sports betting.
Created via Senate Resolution 323, the committee adopted its final report, offering key recommendations to strengthen Georgia’s landscape as a competitive tourism destination. Over the course of five meetings across the state, the committee examined ways to encourage and expand tourism.
“It’s time we grow our tourism efforts, and it starts with supporting our hospitality employees and promoting investments into our local businesses,” state Sen. Drew Echols, R–Alto, chair of the committee, said in a release.
“Thank you to all the organizations that allowed us to host our meetings and showcase the incredible tourism opportunities our state has to offer,” Echols added. “I know first-hand from my family’s farm that tourism can bring a lot into both large and small communities, and I am proud of the work we’ve done to make Georgia a leading destination.”
In recommendations delivered after statewide testimony, the panel also said state leaders should clarify and modernize state and local hotel-motel excise taxes to shift more burden to visitors and invest in major convention center renovations to compete with peer markets.
The committee also backs incentives for events and venues to source from Georgia farmers and vendors, stronger links between farmers and event spaces, and a more consistent permitting system for agritourism operations that are often misclassified. It also urged workforce measures that build a “ladder of success” in hospitality, encouraging employers to promote from entry roles into management and expanding work-based learning tailored to tourism to reduce turnover.