Along a 35 to 15 vote, the Georgia Senate has approved a bill to allow sports betting – with a catch.

SB 386 now includes a separate Constitutional Amendment from Senator Bill Cowsert. That means voters with have a ‘final say’ in November, and both Georgia House chambers will now have to approve the bill with two-thirds majority votes.

Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones issued a statement, saying he was “proud of the bi-partisan effort in the Senate.”

Jones added, “We are one step closer to providing tens of millions of dollars to education funding for the next generations of Georgia.”

The betting would be under the oversight of the Georgia lottery commission. Proceeds would go to Pre-K and the HOPE Scholarship.

Bill sponsor State Sen. Clint Dixon said he wanted all proceeds to go “toward education, which I’m very passionate about.

“These dollars that are being generated in our state, unfortunately illegally right now, would be captured and go to HOPE and Pre-K.”

Dixon has the support of Atlanta’s professional sports teams. But many Republican Evangelicals aren’t on board with sports betting or any kind of gambling.

SB 386 now heads to the Georgia House, where the legislation has failed in the past.

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