In Kentucky, state Rep. Adam Koenig said House Bill 175, which would have allowed the state’s horse racetracks and the Kentucky Speedway to offer sports betting, will not receive a vote before the session ends March 28. Koenig stated, “Needing a supermajority of votes was too high a bar to get in a short time period. We will regroup and reload with a better plan to win the hearts and minds of the public next year. We will only need a simple majority, and it will be a budget year where that $20-$48 million in tax revenue will look a lot more important. I really like the chances next year.”
This was the third consecutive year a sports betting bill was introduced. Koenig’s measure required 60 votes from the 100 House members, a three-fifths supermajority, but since 2020 is an even-numbered year, the bill will need just 51 votes to reach the state Senate. The measure had 20 co-sponsors, so a solid base of votes already is there.
Lawmakers still could pass bills on the final day but they would adjourn without getting a chance to override any vetoes by Governor Matt Bevin, an opponent of sports betting. The bill previously passed a House committee.
Koenig’s bill would have permitted wagers on most major sporting events, but not college games involving in-state teams. It would have allowed mobile sports wagering after in-person registration, in addition to online poker sites. Operators would have paid a licensing fee of $500,000. Analysts said sports betting would have generated $20-$48 million that could help the state fill its public pension gap.
The measure was endorsed by business groups statewide, including the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and the Kentucky Equine Education Project. KEEP officials told supporters they will work with lawmakers who will “reassess their strategy for legalizing sports wagering in 2020.” KEEP successfully lobbied for the restoration of a state tax deduction for losses on horseracing wagers, an oversight that occurred last year.
The failure of the sports betting bill was hailed by conservative groups including the Family Foundation of Kentucky. Senior Policy Analyst Martin Cothram said proponents Opponents of the bill said they were pleased to see it stall in the legislature this year. “We believe it is not the state’s role to allow and profit from the exploitation of its own citizens. We know a lot of money was spent by the casino industry to get it passed, money some of which was gotten from people who could ill afford to lose it,” he stated. Cothram added any expansion of gambling should be voted on by residents, like any other constitutional amendment.
