Kentucky Casino Legislation
[toc]A new bill in Kentucky would legalize and license casinos in the state, with the potential for sports betting legalization as well.
Casinos, sports betting in Kentucky?
Kentucky gambling laws define gambling as, “staking or risking something of value on the outcome of a contest, game, gaming scheme, or gaming device which is based upon an element of chance, in accord with an agreement or understanding that someone will receive something of value in the event of a certain outcome.”.
Kentucky Gambling Legislation
Horse betting and racing is already big business in Kentucky. But the state appears to be serious about considering more gaming when 2018 arrives — depending on who you ask.
New bills would start the process for legalizing casinos in the state:
- Last week, the casino gambling legislation procedure in the state of Kentucky was brought to a standstill. The racing lobbying group suddenly announced that it no longer supports the legislation bill. Previous Friday, the Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP), one of the organizations that strongly supported the casino legislation and additional gambling activities to state’s.
- Gambling is practically a state tradition in Kentucky, and poker has also played a big role in the history of the Bourbon State. Poker used to be the stuff of riverboats and underground clubs, but today’s Kentucky poker scene is more about live casinos and online poker.
- BR 197is a proposed constitutional amendment to allow casinos.
- BR 149 is enabling legislation.
The latter would allow for sports wagering the future, potentially. Here’s more from WCPO in Kentuckywith the bill sponsor:
Casinos and gambling have been the subject of controversial bills in recent legislative sessions, but Dennis Keene said he believes “the atmosphere is more receptive right now.”
Kentucky already allows parimutuel gambling — betting in which all winning bets share the total pool — at specific venues for horse racing. Keene’s bill would expand what those venues can do as well as add up to four casinos across the state. He sees the betting eventually including other sports, including basketball, baseball and football.
The bill would specifically ban wagering on amateur athletic contests but does not preclude wagering on pro sports.
Opposition to casinos, too
While Keene is the Democratic caucus chair in the House, there’s not exactly unanimous support in the state government. Here’s the Lexington Herald Leader:
State Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, said he does not favor allowing casinos in Kentucky and sees little chance the legislature will approve a casino measure in 2018.
And Republican Gov. Matt Bevin has said casino gambling is not going to happen in Kentucky.
That makes it seem like a steep climb for the casino bill off the bat.
Sports betting already on Kentucky’s radar
A bill already surfaced this summer in the state to possibly legalize sports wagering. That legislation would authorize the state’s horse racing commission to promulgate regulations for sports betting.
The initial version includes a tax that is far too high to be reasonable — 20 percent on handle. But still, it’s a conversation starter for the possibility of sports gambling.
Kentucky is just one of a number of states that are least considering the idea of legal sports betting should the federal ban be struck down via the New Jersey sports betting case.
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky lawmakers started advancing a bill Thursday to prevent the unplugging of historical racing machines that have expanded into lucrative ventures for the state’s horse tracks.
The measure cleared the Senate Licensing and Occupations Committee and heads to the full Senate, where its prospects are bolstered by support from Senate President Robert Stivers and Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer. In the House — where it would go if it passes the Senate — the proposal is backed by Speaker David Osborne.
Despite those endorsements, anti-gambling opponents vowed to mount strong resistance when the measure comes up for more action in the Republican-dominated legislature.
“From here on out, the bill’s chances start going down pretty dramatically,” Martin Cothran with The Family Foundation said after the Senate panel advanced the measure.
The foundation is a conservative group that has waged a long-running legal fight against the spread of the slots-style betting machines.
The measure seeks to fix flaws that led Kentucky’s Supreme Court to rule that at least some forms of wagering on historical horse racing don’t meet pari-mutuel wagering standards under state law. The bill would insert such operations into the definition of pari-mutuel wagering.
Fallout from the court ruling began recently when one of the state’s historical racing venues, operated jointly by Keeneland and Red Mile in Lexington, closed temporarily.
Ky Casino Legislation
Historical racing machines allow people to bet on randomly generated, past horse races. The games typically show video of condensed horse races. Bettors in Kentucky wagered more than $2 billion on historical racing machines in the prior fiscal year.
Those revenues help support Kentucky’s renowned horse industry — benefiting tracks, horse farms, support businesses, communities and tourism, supporters said Thursday. The ventures have pumped money into race purses and breed development funds to make Kentucky tracks more competitive with with tracks and horse breeding operations in other states. But casino-backed tracks in other states are often still able to offer higher race purses, the Senate committee was told.
Kentucky Gambling Legislation
“If you go anywhere in the world and you tell someone you’re from Kentucky, they’re going to know horses and they’re going to know the Kentucky Derby,” horse trainer Tom Drury said. “We’re supposed to set the standard. We’re supposed to be the ones at the head of the table. And right now we’re struggling. The smaller tracks are really struggling. The smaller trainers are struggling.”
Supporters also pointed to the economic benefits of historical racing to communities. The Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel operation near the Tennessee border created about 400 jobs, said Kelli Pendleton, president/CEO of the Christian County Chamber of Commerce. The development has spurred higher restaurant and hotel revenues and local businesses report increased sales, she said.
The Family Foundation warned that legal problems for the machines wouldn’t end if the bill passes, possibly foreshadowing another court showdown over historical race wagering. The group says a change to Kentucky’s constitution is needed to make the operations legal — an approach that supporters of historical racing say isn’t needed.
Cothran told the Senate committee that the bill seeks “to bring the law into alignment with the actions of the tracks, and in doing so making a mockery of the constitution.” The group also says such wagering drains money from the poor to benefit deep-pocketed racing interests.
Meanwhile, several advocacy groups have urged lawmakers to raise the tax rate on historical horse racing to boost state spending on education, health care and other services. The tax issue could come up if lawmakers consider any revenue measure as they craft a new state budget.
Kentucky Casino Laws
While wagering on historical racing operations exceeded $2 billion in the past fiscal year, the tax collected on historical racing was only $33.8 million, with $15.1 million going to the state General Fund, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported. That’s because lawmakers several years ago set a lower tax rates for historical racing than it had in place for live races and simulcasting.
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The legislation is Senate Bill 120.