Kentucky sports betting enthusiasts will have to wait at least another year before being able to access legalized services. Unfortunately, the final day of the legislative session in the state has ended, and sports betting legislation was not voted on.
Representative Adam Koenig introduced HB 606 to see sports betting come to pass in the state. Still, the measure never received a hearing or vote within the Senate Committee on Economic Development.
Kentucky Sports Betting is Probably a Long Shot
The bill by Koenig would have legalized retail sports betting at horse tracks in the state within such venues as the Churchill Downs. It would have also legalized online options, giving players access to services anywhere inside the state’s borders.
The problem with the legislation boils down to support. Typically, the Republican senators in the state will not vote on a bill if there is not enough support behind it. The sports betting measure by Koenig had the support of the democrats, but it was expected that a vote would come up short due to a lack of Republican support. However, it might have received enough votes to move on to a full Senate review if voting had taken place.
The bill was approved in the House of Representatives last month with a vote of 58-30. In the weeks after the vote, Koenig spent a lot of time trying to gain enough support to push the bill through the Senate, though he was unable to do so.
Koenig must now wait until the next legislative session in 2023 to try and bring the topic up again. However, it will be a much more difficult task as the odd years in legislature require a 3/5 majority for bills to move forward, and the sessions are only 30 days long.
Without enough support, we could see the Kentucky sports betting effort pushed back several more years, putting the state further behind its neighbors that have embraced the activity.
Tough Battle in 2022 for Kentucky Sports Betting
The legislation was a long shot from the beginning just due to the opponents of sports betting. Then, Senator Whitney Westerfield decided to submit amendments to the measure. And it wasn’t just one or two amendments. A total of 17 amendments were made.
Some of the changes include the cleaning up language within the bill, while others looked to increase the licensing and renewal fees to $1 million. Initially, the measure sought to include $500,000 for licensing and $50,000 for renewal. Westerfield wanted to increase the licensing cost by 50% and go even further with the renewal fee cost.
It is essential to point out that Kentuckians seem to want access to sports betting, and legislators are supposed to act in the people’s interest. Information by GeoComply, a geo-location company, connected to online gambling in the US, showed that support.
Over 530,000 attempts were made last month to place sports bets inside the state. The company validated that over 41,000 player accounts were created by people in Kentucky for sports betting in nearby states like Tennessee, Indiana, and Virginia. Players are essentially crossing into other states to place bets, with Kentucky losing out on the potential revenues from sports fans.
This data should prove to legislators that players want access to Kentucky sports betting. Instead of traveling out of state, patrons could stay at home and place a bet whenever they like with legalized services.
It will be interesting to see if those against sports betting will speak out about why they are not helping legalize the option and what concessions will need to be made to get the much-needed approval. Unless lawmakers can come together and find a solution, legislation will remain in limbo whenever it is introduced.