A University of Georgia poll released'this week that showed that the vast majority of Georgians think the nation is “headed down the wrong track” and would re-elect Republican Gov. Brian Kemp also revealed that 59.7% of voters would support legal casino gambling, and 45.6% would support mobile wagering on professional sports.
Georgia lawmakers have been trying for three years to approve new forms of gambling in a state that currently does not have any. In 2021, the effort was torpedoed when Democrats withheld votes over a Republican voting-rights bill, and in 2022, Rep. Ron Stephens’ proposal to legalize via constitutional amendment was stripped and replaced with language about a timber tax.
Georgia is currently in a small pocket of states that each don’t allow sports betting – western neighbor Tennessee does allow statewide mobile wagering, but Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina are all among the remaining U.S. states that do not regulate online betting.
Women, whites, Blacks, conservatives oppose
The poll, commissioned by the Georgia News Collaborative, covered everything from candidates’ races to the state of the nation to President Joe Biden’s approval rating. The results reveal a state leaning heavily Republican in most cases with concern about the path America is on, and 49.3% of those polled saying they “strongly disapprove” of the “way Joe Biden is handling his job as president.”