An effort to legalize sports betting in Georgia officially failed Thursday, the final day of the state’s legislative session.

While there was progress toward sports betting legalization in the Senate in 2024, the House of Representatives had no appetite to move forward.

Senate Resolution 579 would’ve brought the question of legalizing sports betting to georgia voters in November, as sponsors believed a constitutional amendment was necessary for gambling expansion. Enabling legislation, Senate Bill 386, could’ve brought up to 16 mobile betting apps to Georgia.

Mobile sports betting would’ve been taxed at 25%, with tax revenue benefitting education and responsible gambling measures.

Instead, Georgians will once again have to wait until next year to see if legislators can agree on a path forward for sports betting legalization. Debates about where tax revenue should go and whether or not a constitutional amendment is needed to legalize sports wagering will likely come up again in 2025.

Georgia’s House of Representatives remains a gigantic obstacle in the state’s push to legalize sports wagering.

Bills have passed through the Senate on numerous occasions over the years, including this year. No sports betting bill has ever successfully passed through Georgia’s House, though.

This year, sports betting bills were not even discussed on the House floor. SB 386 and SR 579 failed to pass through the House Rules Committee on Thursday.

Pushback in the House could linger into 2025, as will several other obstacles. Among them, there’s still a contingent of legislators and constituents in the state who morally oppose sports betting. Shifting views on gambling has been a challenge in Georgia, especially with constitutional amendments requiring two-thirds support in each legislative chamber.

While major hurdles to legalization remain, it’s clear there are Georgians who want legal sports betting. From March 11-24, GeoComply reported 258,000 sports betting geolocation checks in Georgia from over 32,000 accounts trying to access legal betting apps in neighboring states.

North Carolina’s online betting market went live on March 11.

Without legalization, bettors will either cross state borders to place legal bets or use illegal platforms to wager.