Local COAM Ordinances: The Hidden Compliance Layer Georgia Operators Can't Ignore in 2026

Most Georgia COAM operators have heard about the July 1, 2026 deadline under HB 353. That's the state law eliminating cash payouts in favor of gift cards and lottery tickets. But on April 13, 2026, a vote in Rome, Georgia sent a different message to operators across the state: your city or county may have already changed the rules at the local level — and the grace period is over.

The Rome City Commission voted 5-2 to deny a waiver request from the Stop N Go convenience store on Calhoun Avenue, effectively forcing the business into a choice: remove its COAM machines or relocate. The store had operated coin-operated amusement machines for over a decade without incident. But when Rome adopted a new COAM ordinance in May 2024, the store's location — sandwiched between a church and a residence — put it in violation of the city's new buffer zone requirements. The grace period expired in May 2025. The store sought a waiver. The commission said no.

This outcome is not unique to Rome. It is a preview of what is coming for operators in dozens of Georgia communities where local governments passed their own COAM ordinances in 2024 — and where enforcement is now ramping up.

The Legal Foundation: Georgia Code § 50-27-86

HB 353 gets all the attention, but Georgia law has long authorized local governments to regulate COAM operations within their borders. Under Georgia Code § 50-27-86, any county or municipal corporation may enact and enforce ordinances that go beyond state-level licensing requirements. This authority is substantial — and it is being used.

Local governments are specifically authorized to impose:

• Machine count limits — Municipalities can prohibit more than six Class B machines at a single business location, which is stricter than the state's baseline
• Distance requirements — Ordinances can require COAMs to be located a certain distance from churches, schools, and residences, provided those distances are no more restrictive than what the jurisdiction already applies to alcohol sales
• Plain view requirements — Machines must be visible from the main business area, preventing back-room operations
• Dual reporting obligations — Some cities require operators to report violations to both the Georgia Lottery Corporation and the local municipal government

The result is a patchwork regulatory environment. State compliance is necessary, but it is not sufficient. An operator who is fully compliant with GLC licensing and HB 353 gift card requirements may still be in violation of the ordinances in their city or county.

What Happened in Rome

Rome adopted its COAM ordinance in May 2024. The key provision is a set of buffer zone requirements: businesses with COAMs must be at least 300 feet from a church and at least 150 feet from a residential property.

The Stop N Go store at 400A Calhoun Avenue could not meet these requirements. Its location between a church and a residence made compliance with the distance rules geometrically impossible without physically moving the business. The store's COAM permit was renewed in February 2025, but when the new ordinance's grace period expired in May 2025, the city notified the store it was out of compliance.

The store appealed. Attorney Chris Twyman argued before the commission that granting the waiver would be "an act of fairness for a store that was operating prior to the adoption of the ordinance" and noted that the business and its predecessors had "operated lawfully and honorably for more than a decade without incident and in service to the North Rome Community."

A decade of lawful operation was not enough. The commission voted 5-2 to deny the waiver. The message from local government is clear: the ordinances will be enforced, prior compliance history is not a shield, and there is no guarantee that waivers will be granted even when a business has a strong record.

South Fulton: A Model for What Local Enforcement Looks Like

Rome is not alone. The City of South Fulton adopted its own COAM regulations in May 2024, and the structure of that ordinance shows how seriously metro Atlanta municipalities are taking enforcement.

South Fulton's ordinance requires business owners and operators to place machines in plain view and to actively notify both employees and patrons of prohibited conduct and the associated penalties. On the enforcement side, the ordinance creates a dual-reporting system: violations are reported to both the Georgia Lottery Corporation and the city's Community Development and Regulatory Department.

The penalties in South Fulton go well beyond COAM-specific consequences. Violations can result in the suspension or revocation of:

• COAM operating authorization at that location
• Occupational tax certificates
• Business licenses
• Alcohol licenses

That last point deserves emphasis. For a convenience store or gas station that generates significant revenue from beer and wine sales, losing an alcohol license over a COAM compliance failure is an existential threat to the business — not just the gaming revenue.

The dual-reporting system also means that a COAM violation is no longer just a matter between the operator and the GLC. Local government is now a second enforcement authority watching the same machines.

Floyd County Joined Rome in May 2024

The timing of these local ordinances is not coincidental. In May 2024 — the same month Rome adopted its ordinance — Floyd County also voted on its own COAM regulations. This pattern reflects coordinated local responses to the state's passage of HB 353 and the broader legislative attention being given to the COAM industry.

As state law clarified what COAMs are allowed to do (gift card payouts, higher Class A prize limits, kiosk-based redemption), local governments moved to define where and how those machines could operate in their specific communities. The result is that 2024 became the year of the local COAM ordinance — and 2026 is the year those ordinances begin to bite.

The Dual Compliance Burden Every Georgia Operator Now Faces

If you operate COAMs in Georgia, you now face compliance obligations on two tracks simultaneously:

Track 1: State Compliance (Georgia Lottery Corporation / HB 353)

• Valid GLC Master License (Class A and/or Class B as applicable)
• Valid GLC Location License for each site
• Quarterly Gross Retail Receipts reporting (Q1 was due April 20)
• Gift card or lottery ticket payouts only, effective July 1, 2026 — cash payouts become illegal
• For Class B machines specifically: only replays, lottery products, and non-reloadable or reloadable gift cards are legal after July 1

Track 2: Local Compliance (City / County Ordinances)

• Distance requirements from churches, schools, and residences (varies by jurisdiction)
• Machine count caps (many ordinances limit Class B machines to six per location)
• Plain view placement requirements
• Employee notification requirements about prohibited conduct
• Local reporting obligations in addition to GLC reporting
• Possible permit or registration requirements separate from GLC licensing

Critically, these two tracks operate on different timelines. The state HB 353 deadline is July 1, 2026. But local ordinance grace periods in many jurisdictions expired in 2025. The Stop N Go in Rome was out of compliance under local rules starting in May 2025 — more than a year before the state cash payout ban kicks in.

How to Audit Your Local Compliance Right Now

With 77 days until the state deadline, here is how to ensure you are not blind-sided by local enforcement the way the Rome store was:

1. Contact your city or county clerk's office and ask specifically whether your jurisdiction has adopted a COAM ordinance. Ask for the effective date and any grace period provisions.
2. Measure your buffer zones if your city has distance requirements. The 300-foot church and 150-foot residence requirements in Rome are common benchmarks, but your jurisdiction may differ. If you are too close, there is no workaround short of relocating or removing machines.
3. Verify your machine count. If your city limits Class B machines to six per location and you have more, you are out of compliance regardless of your GLC license status.
4. Check your reporting obligations. If your jurisdiction requires dual reporting to both the GLC and the city, make sure your compliance processes cover both channels.
5. Review your employee training materials. Cities like South Fulton require that employees be actively informed about prohibited conduct. A gap in your training documentation can constitute a violation under those ordinances.
6. Ask your master licensee what local compliance support they provide. Large master licensees operating across multiple locations should have a process for tracking local ordinance requirements by jurisdiction.

The Harder Truth: Local Ordinances Can End Your COAM Operation Even With a Perfect GLC Record

The Rome store had its GLC permit renewed as recently as February 2025. Its machines were presumably operating within state law. Its decade-long record was described as lawful and without incident. None of that mattered when the city commission weighed the local ordinance against the waiver request.

This is the harder truth that the Rome decision makes plain: local governments can effectively end a COAM operation through zoning and ordinance enforcement, entirely independent of the GLC. And unlike GLC violations, which have a defined regulatory process, local enforcement can be highly discretionary — as the 5-2 commission vote illustrates.

Operators who have focused exclusively on state-level HB 353 compliance may be walking into a local ordinance problem they did not know existed. The time to find out is now, not after a city inspector walks through the door.

What This Means for July 1, 2026

The state deadline is still the most consequential change coming for most operators. Cash payouts end July 1, 2026. Any operator still paying out cash after that date is in violation of state law, regardless of local ordinance status. The gift card transition required by HB 353 is non-negotiable, and the timeline for getting it done is short.

But the Rome decision is a reminder that compliance is not a single-destination problem. It is an ongoing, multi-jurisdictional obligation. Meeting the July 1 state deadline does not protect you from a local ordinance violation. And a perfect GLC license record does not protect you from a city commission that decides your location does not fit its community standards.

The operators who will be in the strongest position after July 1, 2026 are those who have audited both levels of compliance, made the necessary changes, and can demonstrate good-faith adherence to every layer of applicable law.

Those who have focused only on state law — or worse, have not started at all — are running out of runway on multiple fronts at once.

The Bottom Line

The Rome Commission's 5-2 vote on April 13 is not just a local news story. It is a data point about where COAM enforcement is heading across Georgia. Local governments adopted new ordinances in 2024. Grace periods ran out in 2025. Enforcement is happening now, in April 2026, with the state deadline still 77 days away.

If you have not yet audited your local compliance — the city and county rules that apply to your specific locations — that audit should happen this week. Not in June. Not after you finish your HB 353 transition. This week.

The Stop N Go store had ten years of clean operation and still lost. Compliance history does not create immunity from regulatory change. What creates protection is active, documented, current compliance — at every level of the law that applies to your machines.