Will NBA betting scandal aid sports betting legalization in Georgia?

Georgia is one of a handful of states where sports betting is still illegal. But a recent scandal involving NBA officials may help state law makers push sports betting legislation over the finish line.
Dr. Thomas Baker teaches sports management and law at the University of Georgia’s Mary Frances Early College of Education. He says allegations that an NBA player and coach used insider information to profit from sports bets may be used as an argument for legalization.
“They could say if we bring transparency to it, to where we have regulated sports betting, then we have less opportunity for corruption,” Dr. Baker says.
State senators introduced legislation to legalize sports betting last session. But disagreements over how to earmark revenues generated by legal gambling sidelined the bill in the House. Law makers could put the issue back in play when they return to Atlanta this January.