We took a look at the legal sweepstake casinos available to residents in Georgia.
Georgia Gambling Sites
Georgia remains reluctant to jump on the bandwagon to legalize online gambling in the Peach State.
Despite this, there are still options on the table.
The legal, safe, and fair option is social or sweepstake casinos. These operate under US sweepstakes laws. As a sweepstake social casino, the operator must offer free games, but there’s also the option to make a deposit and enjoy real money online gambling at these sites.
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The concept of a sweepstakes site is free gaming, so players are not required to make a deposit to play.
To comply with the laws and regulations, social sweepstakes casinos must offer no deposit sweeps coins. Usually, you can get these from prize draws, social media giveaways, or by applying by post.
Alternatively, the operator also bundles the sweeps coins into packages, so if players purchase gold coins, they receive a certain amount of sweeps coins as well. This is a legal loophole in the system that allows real money online gambling in Georgia.
Is Online Gambling Legal in GA?
While some US states are on the fence as to whether or not they will legalize this activity, Georgia has remained firm in its stance to keep online casino gambling out of the state.
Although this is disappointing for players who want to enjoy the online gaming experience, all is not lost. The Peach State allows social casinos to operate legally, which effectively serve the same purpose, albeit dressed up in a slightly different way.
Georgia Gambling Laws
Georgia is among the most anti-gambling states in the US. It allows bingo games, raffles, and there’s also a state lottery. Sweepstakes casinos are also permitted, but other than those, it’s a closed shop for legal gambling options.
Looking at the law book (O.C.G.A. §16-12-21), a person in GA commits the crime of gambling when:
- they make a bet upon the partial or final result of any game or contest or upon the performance of any participant in such game or contest;
- they make a bet upon the result of any political nomination, appointment, or election or upon the degree of success of any nominee, appointee, or candidate; or
- they play and bet for money or other things of value at any game played with cards, dice, or balls.
If convicted of gambling, a person is charged with a misdemeanor, which can result in a fine of up to $1,000; a year in jail, or both.
Georgia Online Gambling Bill
There have been attempts to modernize Georgia online gambling laws, which could be considered a step in the right direction, although nothing has come of it yet. House Resolution #378 was tabled in 2020 with the aim of widening the gambling laws, but that was stopped.
Also in 2020, house bill #93, which proposed the legalization of retail sports betting and online sports betting, actually passed a Senate Special Judiciary vote (5-2). Yet, this appears to have stalled, as no visible progress has been made in the two years since.
Future of Online Gambling in Georgia
It’s difficult to say with any certainty what the future of online gambling in Georgia will be. As things stand, it would appear to be a distant dream. Quite often, gambling online follows the land-based option, but there are no brick-and-mortar casinos in the state and no plans to open any.
Yet, we remain optimistic that the lawmakers will eventually have a change of heart. There are a couple of reasons why this could happen. Firstly, illegal gambling in Georgia is not going to go away. Offshore sites will continue to target GA players.
Additionally, online sports betting has been legalized in neighboring Tennessee. Potentially, these factors may cause a rethink, but when that will be is unknown.
Current Online Gambling Options for Georgia Residents
Horse Racing
Horse betting – both in-person and online – is illegal in Georgia.
Daily Fantasy Sports
Like many US states, Georgia doesn’t have any specific laws related to daily fantasy sports, so it’s neither illegal nor legal. This has allowed the top DFS operators, such as FanDuel, PrizePicks, and DraftKings, to operate openly in the Peach State for many years. As there have been no attempts by lawmakers to prevent this, it seems to be something that they deem as acceptable.
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Casinos
As you’d expect, with Georgia gambling laws as they are, you won’t find any land-based casinos within state lines. There is an outlet, however. Located at Brunswick is the Emerald Princess Casino. This is a casino cruise ship that travels three miles off the coast into international waters, where there are no restrictions on gambling.
The Emerald Princess Casino offers more than 250 slots, a dozen blackjack tables, roulette, craps, and poker games. For ardent players in the Brunswick area, this is a stellar option.
Sports Betting
Other than DFS, you will not find any legal forms of sports betting available in Georgia.
If other US states are a guide, wagering on a sports betting site is more accepted than casino gambling. Therefore, this is the most likely one to arrive first out of the two.
Georgia Lottery
If you visit the Georgia lottery website, you wouldn’t think that gambling is illegal here. It is packed with Diggi games, as well as keno, scratchers, and various lotto draws.
- Diggi Games: There are 90 Diggi games that you can play online, such as Cleopatra Clusters, Wheel of Fortune Prize Burst, and Monopoly. You can win up to $400,000 on some of the fixed jackpot games, while others have progressive jackpots that can go much higher.
- Scratchers: The lottery website has an assemblage of scratchers that cost between $1 and $30 a ticket. The top scratchers have a million-dollar jackpot, making them a popular option for players.
- Second Chance: You’ll find a few active second chance games, which are essentially prize draws using non-winning scratcher tickets. This is a fun concept, and it adds more value to buying certain scratchers.
- Keno: It’s possible to play keno online. There are over 300 draws a day, and you can win up to $100,000.
- Cash 3, Cash 4, and Cash Pop: These are like a little lottery where you only have to match 1 to 4 numbers. There are multiple draws each draw and a prize of $5,000 up for grabs, which is decent for a $0.50 ticket.
- Lotto Games: Georgia 5, Mega Millions, Powerball, and Cash4Life are among the main lotto games you can buy online tickets for. Of course, the jackpots vary depending on the number of winners.
Sweepstakes and Social Casinos
Sweepstakes sites are allowed to accept players from Georgia, and this is what we recommend for players who want to gamble online. The best sweeps and social casinos offer more than 200 slots and table games. There is also a sweep coins poker site for fans of Texas Hold’Em ring games in the name of Global Poker.
Online Gambling Timeline
The Georgia state lottery was launched in 1992 under the Lottery for Education Act. That was the first form of gambling legalized in the state.
Things appeared to be heading in the right direction in 2012 when the state legislature gave approval for a casino, but the Governor at the time wouldn’t sign it into law. A couple of years later, the casino cruise ship, Tradewinds, had its license revoked for breaches of Georgia’s gambling laws.