Kentucky state Rep. Adam Koenig, a longtime proponent of bringing sports betting to the state, recently said he’ll try again to get a bill passed in 2021 since his proposal failed to gain traction this year during the 30-day session. But sports betting legislation could be derailed again since the state Supreme Court ruled in September that a certain historical horseracing system used throughout the state does not meet the legal definition for parimutuel wagering. “As frustrating as it is for me to say because I’ve put so much effort into sports betting, I think it’s fair to say historical horseracing is going to be number one and it should be,” Koenig said.
In fiscal 2020, handle from historical horseracing exceeded $2.2 billion, generating $33.8 million in excise taxes for the state and creating larger purses for Kentucky’s horse racing industry.
Koenig said the Family Trust Foundation of Kentucky, which brought the civil suit, possibly could ask the state high court for a ruling on other historical horseracing systems offered in the state. However, he noted, “On the flip side, once people experience it and go home and realize their churches didn’t kick them out and life went on as normal after there was the vote, then maybe people will come back and say you know what, that wasn’t so bad, let’s talk about this,” meaning expanding gambling to include sports betting.
Of the seven states that border Kentucky, five have legal sports betting: Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. The issue is moving forward in the other two, Ohio and Missouri.
Koenig suggested that Kentuckians “hound their legislator. It sounds quaint, but it’s the truth. I need backup. Help a brother out. I’m with you in the fact that I want you to do it legally. Contact your legislators and don’t just do it once, keep on them. Because the opponents are louder than you and there’s fewer of them, but the legislators don’t know that because they aren’t hearing from the proponents.”
