Bill to legalize sports wagering clears Kentucky House

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A invoice to legalize sports activities betting in Kentucky gained Home passage on Monday, establishing a Senate showdown on a proposal that creates divisions among the many Republican supermajorities.

Previous efforts to legalize sports activities wagering within the Bluegrass State garnered Home assist however died within the Senate. It’s a mirrored image of how divisive the playing concern is within the state that’s house to Churchill Downs in Louisville, the place the Kentucky Derby is run.

“This does create a regulated market for sports activities wagering, taking sports activities wagering in Kentucky out of the shadows, out of the darkness and transferring it into the sunshine,” stated Republican Rep. Michael Meredith, the invoice’s lead sponsor.

The measure cleared the Home on a 63-34 vote, however its prospects within the Senate are unsure, with a better procedural hurdle for supporters to beat this 12 months. It wants a three-fifths vote in every chamber to go, because it’s a revenue-producing invoice in an odd-numbered 12 months.

Opponents dug in for the looming combat within the Senate. After the Home vote, The Household Basis stated the sports activities wagering invoice represents “a large growth of predatory playing at a time when Kentuckians can least afford it.”

A key supporter of the invoice, Senate Majority Flooring Chief Damon Thayer, stated later Monday that it is “going to be robust” to succeed in that larger threshold within the Senate.

“However very first thing’s first, I need to attempt to get it out of committee,” Thayer stated in an interview.

After a number of years of developing brief, supporters stated it’s time for Kentucky to just accept a type of wagering already obtainable in most of Kentucky’s neighboring states.

“You actually simply need to drive throughout the county line or cross the river to go participate of their applications.” Meredith stated.

The invoice’s opponents stated state-sanctioned sports activities wagering would create extra social issues that harm households. Republican Rep. Chris Fugate stated: “This isn’t laws that Kentucky might be happy with.”

“This isn’t good for Kentucky,” he stated. “It’s not good for households. It’s not good for folks. And I actually hope and pray we get to see some laws that may convey jobs into east Kentucky and to the agricultural components of this state.”

If legalized, sports activities wagering in Kentucky is anticipated to generate about $23 million a 12 months in tax income, Meredith stated.

Home Invoice 551 would enable Kentucky’s horse racing tracks to be licensed as sports activities betting amenities for a $500,000 upfront price and an annual renewal price of $50,000. Collaborating tracks may contract with as much as three service suppliers to supply sports activities wagering companies on the observe itself, or by means of on-line websites and cell purposes. Service suppliers must pay $50,000 for an preliminary license, with a $10,000 annual renewal price.

Below the invoice, the Kentucky Horse Racing Fee would regulate sports activities wagering operations. Income generated from taxing such wagering would cowl these regulatory prices. A proportion of the income would go right into a fund centered on coping with downside playing. The leftover income after that may circulation into the state public pension system.