Gambling laws in Kentucky do not yet extend to legal sports betting, however, its apparent that the state’s legislators have taken it upon themselves to change that since sports betting became legal in the USA in May of 2018.
As in many other states, sports betting taxes appear to be the major hurdle for Kentucky’s lawmakers to overcome before the sports betting legalization can occur.
In the twin state government bills of late 2017/early 2018, BR 155 and House Bill 536 have both sought Kentucky gambling laws to allow sports betting, a $250,000 licensing fee for operators, appoint the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission as the government agency in charge of regulating sports betting and set up a 20% tax on the betting handle.
However, given that a gambling friendly state like Nevada has 5% tax for operators or New Jersey who has a 13% tax on Operators, state legislators have wisely foreseen that a 20% state will make it impossible for any operator (state-backed or otherwise) to turn a profit.
While both bills have been seen by gambling industry experts to be a little naïve, it seems like the Kentucky State Legislature have at least begun the conversation․
Given that neighboring Tennessee passed a law for online sports wagering without any heritage of casino gambling, there is great hope that Bluegrass State lawmakers can be committed to passing a bill in the near future (based on the outcome of the legislative debates on either of March 2020 bills – HB 137 or SB 24 – that were postponed due to the global pandemic) by which Kentucky can control and profit from legalized sports betting.
|