PGA Tour joins push for Georgia sports betting legalization

The PGA Tour has urged Georgia lawmakers to legalize sports betting, joining Atlanta’s major professional sports teams in lobbying for legislation that backers say would generate new tax revenue and boost fan engagement.

Less than 24 hours after the Tour Championship wrapped up at East Lake, Scott Warfield, head of the PGA Tour’s gaming division, appeared before the state’s House Study Committee on Gaming to make the case.

“This is a way to get the core fan engaged longer on our sport,” Warfield said. “They engage more with our content and follow the tournaments closely.”

Georgia lawmakers are weighing sports betting and casino gambling proposals as part of a broader debate over whether to eliminate the state income tax, a move that would require alternative revenue sources. A similar effort in North Carolina generated more than $110 million in its first year from licensing fees and betting taxes.

Warfield argued that gambling could draw younger fans to golf: “This attracts a 35- to 44-year-old fan base to come in, have a five-dollar bet on the end of the tournament yesterday and find out what great story lines we have on the PGA Tour.”

The Falcons, Braves, Hawks, and Atlanta United have all publicly supported sports betting, but opposition remains strong among religious groups.

“I’m sure you can use that same justification for fentanyl, for prostitution, for recreational marijuana use,” said Mike Griffin of the Baptist Mission Board.

The committee is scheduled to meet twice more before delivering recommendations to the General Assembly.