The Georgia Senate passed a bill which lays the groundwork for the legalization of sports betting in the state after a constitutional amendment that would give Georgia voters the final say was added at the last minute.

Senate Bill 386 heads to the House chamber after receiving a favorable 35-15 vote, a large enough margin to meet the two-thirds majority required by the Legislature for legislation that amends the Georgia Constitution through a ballot referendum. The bill’s sponsor, Republican Sen. Clint Dixon, was among several lawmakers who on Thursday opposed adding the amendment clause, instead relying on the legal opinion of former Georgia Supreme Court Justice Harold Melton, who last year wrote as a partner in a private law firm that the state didn’t need a ballot referendum if sports gambling was operated like a lottery game.

The bill’s passage in the Senate marked a significant milestone for legalized sports betting in Georgia after several years of unsuccessful attempts to legalize sports betting, horse racing, and casinos in conjunction or individually.

There have been disagreements among legislators on a variety of topics, including the ills of gambling addiction, how revenue would be distributed and what forms of gambling should be permitted.

In a statement, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a Republican from Butts County, praised senators for bringing sports betting to a successful vote in the Senate.

“I was proud of the bi-partisan effort in the Senate today,” Jones said. “We are one step closer to providing tens of millions of dollars to education funding for the next generations of Georgia. I look forward to continued discussions to get this done.”

Under Dixon’s bill, the Georgia Lottery would oversee a sports gambling industry that pays a 20% tax on revenue to help fund higher education HOPE scholarships and pre-K programs.