UPDATED: Kentucky Sports Betting Bill Clears Legislature in Session’s Final Day

In the end, legalizing sports betting in KY on Th came downwards to politics.

Lawmakers in the General Assembly, seeking to wrap upwards a few pieces of important statute law on the final daytime of the 2023 session, came to agreements not only when to make pass sports betting but on another measure that reforms how the body politic will task bourbon barrels.

Bourbon and betting. That’s so Kentucky.

Both bills cleared the chamber too soon Thursday evening, with House Bill 551, the gaming measure led by land Rep. Michael James Howard Meredith (R-Oakland), doing so on a 25-12 vote. It required 23 votes for passage because of constitutional requirements on revenue-generating statute law in a non-budget session. As of Wednesday evening, proponents said they had 22 definite votes on their side.

Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, said having II major issues same that “coming to a head” led to collaboration that led to their passage.

Senate President Henry Martyn Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, concurred.

When you enquire the House what’s important to them, what’s important to other bills that feature to have through, it became evident that at that place was a lot of reenforcement for both bills to move,” Stivers told reporters Thursday evening. “And so it’s more of a cumulative give-and-take when we talk with House leaders.”

HB 551 now heads to Gov. Andy Beshear’s desk. An ardent proponent of expanded gaming, Beshear thanked lawmakers for exit sports betting inward a tweet Th night and making the Bluegrass Country State the 37th to manage so.

After years of urging lawmakers to legitimatise sports betting, we eventually did it! Today’s final result shows that hard work on pays off. 1/2

— Governor Andy Beshear (@GovAndyBeshear) March 30, 2023

About the Bluegrass State Sports Betting Bill

The visor allows the state’s nine racetracks to boniface retail sportsbooks at their tracks and orbiter gaming facilities. It also gives them the power to partner with tercet online operators – import the res publica could feature as many as 27 licensed apps.

Tracks testament compensate $500,000 for their licenses, patch operators will pay off $50,000. Annual renewal fees will follow $50,000 for tracks and $10,000 for operators.

The land will assess operators’ revenues at 9.75% for the retail books and 14.25% for the online operators. The revenue testament handle the KHRC’s administrative costs, with 2.5% beingness earmarked for the state’s first of all problem gaming assistance fund and the balance sledding to the state’s pension off fund.

The natural law testament make effect inwards 90 days, although the attorney superior general will go down the functionary day of the month inwards the near future. After that, the KHRC testament make vi months to establish the regulatory fabric and licensing processes. That would likely localize upward sportsbooks to accept their first off bets perhaps past the ending of this year.

Previous forecasts have got estimated the sports betting tax would generate well-nigh $22 billion each year for the state. However, Thayer, in his flooring speech, said that add mightiness live even out higher because of what other states are raising.

Not a ‘Big Win’ for Bluegrass State Racetracks

Some have criticized the government note as a sweetheart trade to the Equus caballus industry. However, Thayer told reporters after the voting that it was the sportsbooks that were pushing for the account to a greater extent than the tracks.

The tracks were to a greater extent concerned about the gray games/skill games ban that passed the law-makers before this month, and erstwhile that happened, the tracks became more occupied in sports betting, Thayer said.

“They’ll live happy to get it,” he said. “There will live partnerships worked out with the providers, but it’s not a openhanded win for the tracks. It’s probably a mean hit, maybe a two-baser for them.”

Several gaming companies had a front inwards Frankfort lastly yr and this year. The Sports Betting Alliance, which consists of BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics, has spent to a greater extent than $80,000 since the commence of 2022, according to the KY Legislative Ethics Commission.

“We require to give thanks the KY General Assembly for release legislating that will work effectual sports betting to the Bluegrass Country State, pending process from Governor Andy Beshear,” said Griffin Finan, DraftKings’ senior vice chairman and deputy sheriff superior general counsel, inward a statement to Casino.org. “We appear forwards to the potency opportunity to acquaint KY sports fans to our top-rated wandering sportsbook product.”

Sports Betting Tally type A Surprise

Meredith and land Rep. Al Gentry, the Louisville Democrat and HB 551’s primary quill cosponsor, stood away to the side inward the chamber as the Senate clerk called the roll.

Afterward, he said he expected they would have 23 or 24 votes, but thither was ace “real surprise,” although he declined to distinguish that senator.

He described Thursday’s voting as a culmination of a social movement that’s been occurrent crosswise the country. Not only when did 36 states antecedently O.K. sports betting, but six states around Bluegrass State get as substantially – with thousands of Kentuckians willing to crown of thorns majesty on a steady groundwork to create their wagers.

Then there was Missouri, Kentucky’s only neighboring commonwealth without effectual sports betting, making advance on their measure.

“We’d really follow an island in and of ourselves… I consider people saw that the chips maintain falling inward that direction, and we’d go along to live an outlier,” James Howard Meredith said. “Then it just now made signified because of all the butt against states and what we were capable to submit on all the illegal wagering in the state.”

‘Take It Off the Table’

Among the surprising yes votes were Stivers and commonwealth Sen. Brandon Smith, R-Hazard. For years, Stivers would give tongue to ambivalency about the impact sports betting would create inwards the state, describing the millions it would bring forth as “appetizer” inwards relation to the state’s multi-billion dollar bill budget.

I matt-up it was time because the votes eventually are sledding to live there, follow it at present or next year to flip this,” the Senate president told reporters. “The interrogative sentence on the vote sum only was because it was an odd-numbered year and needful 60%. Therefore, there were more than enough votes in this chamber to head the bill. So, go forwards and ut it at present and occupy it away of the table.”

Smith explained his “surprisingly” yes ballot on the floor, saying that his district – redrawn after the 2020 Census – changed significantly and included vast back up for the bill.

“I experience made a pretty firmly caseful against this bill,” he said on the floor. “But i testament evidence you how I come in upward short. The voters of my unexampled district require to live able to make this freedom.”

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