Despite a projected budget shortfall and a huge public pension debt, casino gambling is unlikely to advance in Kentucky. In June, Churchill Downs Racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky announced it will build a new million- million, 85,000 square foot facility, scheduled to open in 2018, to house 650 historical horse racing machines. Some observers believed it was an effort to expand gambling in Kentucky. But recently Republican state Senator Whitney Westerfield said although he heard a few whispers about expanded gaming after Churchill Downs’ announcement, any talk of legalizing casino gambling in Kentucky has quieted down.
Westerfield said, “I spoke with leadership, and they were unaware of anything that was going on. I haven’t heard those same rumors. As a legislator, I’m vehemently opposed to it. I think it’s a regressive tax. Everyone agrees the Commonwealth needs more money, but shouldn’t make it from lower or middle-class folks who don’t have the money in the first place.”
He added, “I would want to know if any legislation is constitutional and would pass constitutional muster. I didn’t think the horse industry was on the same page anymore. I thought they were still in disarray over what they hoped to get, and couldn’t find agreement.”
Rumors also flew when a bill proposing to allow fantasy football failed earlier in the session. The proposal went from being introduced, passing two committee votes, gaining a 37-36 margin in the House and dying in just two weeks; it could not reach the 40-vote threshold required to advance it to the Senate. Republican state Rep. Dan Bentley said, “I haven’t heard the word gambling spoken of since we voted down the Fantasy Football bill. I’m sure that I’m not privy to everything, because there are cliques and all, but I haven’t heard anything.”The Fantasy Football measure would have legalized paid-entry fantasy sports and regulation of DraftKings and FanDuel and other daily fantasy sports operators.
Republican state Rep. Jill York added, “I will say the new majority is being as transparent as they can into looking at everything. There are some very real issues that are going to have to be addressed. I applaud out-of-the-box thinking, but the gambling box is one I haven’t heard talked of opening and no one has talked to me about it.”
Republican state Rep. Tim Moore said he didn’t see gambling “going anywhere. I haven’t heard anything that rises to the level of a buzz, just a little noise at this point that hasn’t risen in volume. There are always going to be a few that think casinos are the right policy for Kentucky, whether we need this money for pensions or the budget. The reason for justifying it shifts, but the desire to have it never goes away.”
And Democratic state Senate Minority Leader Ray Jones commented, “I’ve always opposed gambling, for personal reasons. For me to support any kind of expanded gaming, it would have to be very, very limited and controlled circumstances. I’ve not seen any type of proposal that I could support.”
