While other states in the region have run laps around the Peach State, Georgia betting is still behind with the times. With no sports betting in particular, this is something that people continue to complain about, but the hope is that maybe as soon as next year history can be made. With that, it shouldn't be a major shock that legal sports betting is understandably a part of Georgia's mid-terms.

According to multiple reports, it has been estimated that more than $12 million has been tossed into different campaigns in Georgia from sports betting companies. This of course is not a coincidence, as major players in the sports betting world are hoping that Georgia will become one of the next new states to get things over the line. With this amount of money being donated too, it could impact how upcoming officials view things with legalization as well.

"The (sports betting) industry has become the third-largest corporate donor in the U.S. midterms behind crypto and technology, corporate watchdog Public Citizen estimates, pushing to get candidates elected to office who it hopes will be sympathetic to its issue," reporter Dawn Kopecki said in a recent piece.

This makes a ton of sense and it's easy to agree with what Kopecki wrote. In Georgia, the general view among politicians of late has been that sports betting would provide countless issues for the state. However, with there being so much potential for sports betting tax revenue, these companies getting involved with campaigns see the benefits too. It will be interesting to see how this impacts voting as a whole down the road later this year, but this feels positive for the sports betting efforts.

Georgia learned during the World Cup once again how big sports betting can be

One thing to keep in mind here too is that Georgia learned during the World Cup once again how big sports betting can be. With several high-octane games being played in Atlanta, the city was covered with visitors from all over the world. The problem here, though, was that without legal sports betting being an option, any type of World Cup betting in the state had to get done via a prediction market app.

That's obviously something that officials weren't happy about either, as this has long been a discussion about finding ways to crack down on that kind of use. While the official numbers from the prediction markets weren't released, the estimated numbers for World Cup betting as a whole was massive, and this was something that Georgia unfortunately had to miss out on. The hope is that this won't be the case for the next World Cup.

Matter of fact, this is something that needs to get fixed before any other major events hit the area in the near future. For now, the priority will be for talks to return once the 2027 legislative session opens up. From there, it will be on lawmakers to roll up their sleeves and come up with the right kind of plan. However, with this involvement with campaigns, it truly could help open the door in a big way if the right people end up getting voted into office.

Georgia residents are hoping history can be made during the 2027 legislative session

Despite things being a bit unclear in terms of the future, it has been made clear on more than one occasion that Georgia residents are hoping history can be made during the 2027 legislative session. There has been a strong need for legal sports betting, and things have only been made worse with things getting done elsewhere.

As most of you know by now, there are 39 states with legal sports betting. Of those 39, 30+ have online options. Georgia is one of only 11 states with neither, which is quite frustrating to try and comprehend. With prediction markets running, it helps, but the same kind of prop bets you can find elsewhere aren't a viable option.

This is disappointing on its own, especially with the heart of NFL betting season around the corner. With this, people would love nothing more than to be able to watch the Atlanta Falcons and drop some money on prop bets or particular games. This is a luxury that's not offered through the prediction markets. That's something that hopefully changes for next NFL season, but we don't know what the ending to this story is going to end up being.