The Kentucky General Assembly’s Licensing, Occupations and Administrative Regulations Committee unanimously approved HB 606, a sports betting bill that would legalize retail and online sports betting, daily fantasy sports and online poker. Sports betting would be allowed at licensed Kentucky horseracing tracks and the Kentucky Speedway. The bill now moves to the House floor.
The bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Adam Koenig, earlier said, “Certainly the votes are there on the House floor. It’s a matter of getting my fellow Republicans to see the importance of it, the freedom aspect, the need to provide support and protections for our citizens. I’m hopeful, but I’ve learned that I may like and want to legalize sports betting, but I may not be the best line maker.”
Koenig noted gamblers spend billions of dollars illegally in the state each year. “I think it’s important to bring those people out of the shadows, to dry up the black market, and make sure the people of the state have the benefits of their government protecting them,” he said.
The measure would tax sportsbooks at 9.75 percent and online sports wagering at 14.25 percent. Koenig said sports betting could deliver $20 million in annual tax revenue for the state. Unlike his three previously submitted sports betting bills, Koenig’s measure does not include an in-person registration requirement for online betting.
Last year, Governor Andy Beshear said he would sign sports betting legislation. A recent poll conducted by advocacy group Kentucky Sports Betting Now found 65 percent of Kentucky residents support sports betting.
Koenig sponsored two other gambling bills this session. One proposes a 1.5 percent tax on all parimutuel bets, including historical horseracing, simulcast bets and advance-deposit wagering. Another would create a $225 million fund to provide problem gambling services, to be paid for out of the state’s 2021 settlement with an internet gambling site.
Another bill, sponsored by state Rep. Killian Timoney, would ban slot-like gray machines that have proliferated in convenience stores across the state.
