Expect to see more coin-operated gambling machines across Georgia.
Gov. Nathan Deal signed House Bill 487, which aims to regulate coin-operated machines and other gambling devices that have clustered in the back rooms of gas stations around the state.
State law since 2001 has outlawed video poker in Georgia and banned machines from spitting out cash prizes, yet many machines continue to be used openly despite the occasional crackdown.
The legislation would link the machines to a central database overseen by the Georgia Lottery that would track how much they are used and eventually funnel up to 10 percent of the profits to fund the HOPE program. The machines would still be banned from dispensing cash but could reward players with store merchandise and, for the first time, lottery tickets.
Critics say Deal’s embrace of the legislation is another inevitable step toward full-fledged gambling and accuse him of betraying his promise to oppose an expansion of gambling.
But Deal said he has stuck true to his vow and has reconciled his support for the legislation by stressing the need for new revenue streams for the strained lottery-funded HOPE scholarship and pre-kindergarten programs.
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