House Bill 606 would have legalized sports betting in Kentucky but didn’t get enough support at the statehouse on Thursday. The bill died on the last day of the legislative session.
House Bill 606 Didn’t Get Much Support in the Senate
Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer gave a speech on the Senate floor as he listed the successes and failures of the legislative session; the bill lacked the support it needed from the Senate for the bill to be passed. The announcement came as a surprise as the Senate didn’t conduct a formal vote on the initiative.
Thayer stated that he will continue to be a supporter of bringing sporting betting to the Bluegrass State. He is disappointed by the results, but he believes the results will change in the next legislative session.
The upcoming legislation in 2023 will be much harder as it will require a three-fifths majority vote during a 30-day session, just like in 2021. Sports betting has fallen short for four straight years in Kentucky. However, Thayer believes that the outcome “will change by next year.”
The Bill Would Have Legalized Mobile and Retail Sports Betting
House Bill 606 was sponsored by Rep. Adam Koenig, which would have legalized mobile sports betting and retail sports betting at horse tracks in the state. The bill would have permitted online poker and daily fantasy sports.
In the previous bills, Koenig has supported and stated that establishing a legalized sports betting market would be good for the state as the revenue would create new jobs and help the state in many ways. Koenig believes launching a sports betting market could generate the state approximately $22.5 million in annual revenue.
Kentucky has a long history of horse racing and legal pari-mutuel wagering. The bill not getting enough support didn’t change the law when it comes to betting on authorized horse races. The annual Kentucky Derby that is held in May at Churchill Downs in Louisville, and the race is the first leg of the Triple Crown.
The bill faced heavy opposition in the Senate after the House passed the bill on a vote of 58-30. In the Senate, the Republicans outnumber the Democrats 30-8, and any type of gaming faced opposition from conservatives and other religious groups that mostly reside in the rural area of the state.
Gov. Andy Beshear stated in the past that he supported bringing sports betting to Kentucky. However, by not making it through the Senate, the bill never made it to his desk for consideration and was eventually signed into law.
Sports Betting is Legal or About to be Legal in the Neighboring States
On Wednesday, Sen. Whitney introduced 17 amendments to House Bill 606. That procedure would have needed approval in the House once again before returning to a Senate committee and the full chamber for a vote on these changes.
Sports betting is still illegal in Kentucky as people missed out on the opportunity to legally place wagers on events like the Super Bowl and March Madness, where the Kentucky Wildcats made it.
Many have resorted to crossing state lines to go to Tennessee as people don’t need to be at a casino to place a wager as Tennessee only has a mobile sports betting market. Many people in Kentucky have also used offshore sportsbooks to place wagers signifying that the majority of the state wants sports betting.
Kentucky is missing out on a lot of revenue by not establishing a legal market. Sports betting is legal in Ohio but not yet operational as it has a Jan. 1, 2023 deadline to implement mobile and retail sports betting. Missouri is the only state that doesn’t offer sports betting like Kentucky, but the bill is under consideration this legislative session at the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City.