Atlanta United’s Darren Eales has joined team presidents of the Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta Hawks to urge Georgia lawmakers to legalize betting on games, according to a report from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The four organizations have joined to form a non-profit called the Georgia Professional Sports Integrity Alliance, Inc., which filed with the state on October 3. The report says that the newly-formed group sent a letter to state lawmakers urge them to allow bets on games that can be made online and on cell phones.
While sports betting is seen as taboo in the United States, it’s a major part of the sports scene in several other countries, most notably the United Kingdom, which is littered with brick-and-mortar betting parlors, gambling advertising, and even in-stadium stands to place bets.