Kentucky state Rep. Adam Koenig said 2022 could be the year Kentucky lawmakers pass sports betting legislation. House Bill 241, which he sponsored, would have legalized sports wagering but it failed in committee this year. Sports betting bills also died in 2019 and 2020. He said, “Speaking of laws that unduly restrict us from growth and innovation, this is it. It is time to legalize medical marijuana, pass sports betting and save historic horseracing.”
Legal sports betting has bipartisan support, including Governor Andy Beshear. But a lack of enthusiasm from Republican lawmakers has kept any bill from moving forward. Koenig noted, “We’re not exactly a trailblazing state when it comes to new policy changes in the world. We have a large rural population and, therefore, many rural legislators who are reluctant to poke the bear.”
Still, Koenig points to the legislature’s passage of a historical horseracing bill earlier this year. The legislation helped reverse the 2020 Kentucky Supreme Court decision that HHR was not a form of parimutuel betting.
Koenig said, “After our vote on historical horseracing earlier this year and our success at passing it, I think there’s more optimism that sports betting might have a shot. Given what we did this year with historical horse racing, I think there will be some who realize that they’re not going to ruin their political career. It may make going to church the first couple Sundays a little uncomfortable and then life will continue.”
The revenue generated from HHR helps keep tracks operating and allows races to offer larger purses, which helps attract the top horses to Kentucky to race.
Besides Republican lawmakers, conservative groups like the Family Foundation of Kentucky also oppose expanded gambling. The group’s website states, “The vulnerable will be destroyed. There will be some people whose lives will be totally destroyed by marriage damage, financial stress, alcoholism, drug use, child neglect and abuse, spouse neglect and abuse, divorce, depression, suicide, embezzlement, imprisonment and crime.”
Despite significant opposition to sports betting, Koenig said he will sponsor a bill at the beginning of the 2022 legislative session to legalize mobile and retail sports wagering. The bill will be similar to HB 241, which would have allowed mobile and retail sports wagering on professional and collegiate sports. It also would have permitted online poker and daily fantasy sports. The measure designated the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to regulate sports betting in the state.
“I’m thinking about a few small changes, but it’ll be largely the same. I’m gonna keep going until it gets done. I’ve told folks that even if they don’t like me and they don’t like my bills, they might as well just pass it because I’m not leaving until I get it done,” Koenig stated.
