Kentucky sports betting bill faces long odds

A Kentucky legislator has introduced a bill that would authorize sports betting at the state’s racetracks and through online services operated by the tracks, but the legislation faces a high hurdle due to odd-year legislative rules.

The bill, which would also permit fantasy sports and online poker, would need a three-fifths supermajority in each house of the legislature to pass, and would then need to survive a possible veto from Gov. Matt Bevin, who has resisted efforts to expand gambling in the state. In odd-numbered years, the legislature cannot pass bills that raise revenue without the supermajority vote.

Under the bill, Kentucky’s nine licensed racetracks would be authorized to offer sports betting, along with the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta. Racing interests nationwide have been advocating for racetrack locations to be included as vendors in any bills to authorize sports wagering since the U.S. Supreme Court last May struck down a federal law prohibiting states from allowing sports betting.

The bill’s lead sponsor, Rep. Adam Koenig, a Republican from Erlanger in the northern portion of the state, introduced the bill to the House Committee on Licensing, Occupations, and Administrative Regulations on Wednesday.

“People are crying to do it legally,” Koenig said at the committee meeting, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. “This is part of our culture – not just Kentucky’s culture, but America’s culture – and I think it’s time we brought these issues out of the shadow.”

The bill would designate half of the tax revenue raised by sports betting to the state’s pension fund, which is one of the worst funded in the U.S. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission would be responsible for regulating sports betting under the bill.