Kentucky bill heads for House floor amid close legislative deadline
HB 551 facing race against time to be passed before end of March as advocates await voting process
Hopes of a legalized and regulated sports betting market in Kentucky moved forward with the successful passage of a House bill through committee stage in the Bluegrass State’s legislature.
HB 551, which would give regulatory oversight of sports betting to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, was formally filed on February 22 by Republican state Representative Michael Meredith.
The bill notably has bipartisan support, with six Democrats and five Republicans signed on as co-sponsors.
It represents a departure from previous sports betting bills – including a House bill filed in January that is sponsored exclusively by the Democrats.
The bill was voted out of committee stage by the Kentucky House Standing Committee on Licensing Occupations and Administrative Standards this morning and now heads to the House of Representatives for a debate and final vote.
If passed, the legislation would then move to the state’s Senate for final approval before ending up on the governor’s desk for passage into law.
However, the bill faces a race against time, with Kentucky legislators set to recess at the end of the month due to the state operating reduced legislative sessions on odd-numbered years.
Under protocols, the bill needs to secure a minimum of two-thirds of the Senate to pass, meaning advocates must obtain 23 votes from Senators.
Kentucky is surrounded almost entirely on all sides by states which have legalized sports betting, and its legislators are keen to join this number to ensure the state retains revenue which might otherwise be lost to other states through intra-state betting.
Only neighboring Missouri has not legalized sports betting, however, efforts are currently underway to rectify this, with multiple bills being filed in the Senate and House over recent months.
HB 551 would leverage Kentucky’s nine licensed horse tracks as the primary licensees, with each one eligible to partner with up to three online skins. That could give way to a competitive market with up to 27 operators.
The racetracks would be required to pay an upfront fee of $500,000 for a license in addition to an annual renewal fee of $50,000, while the license fees for online skins would be $50,000 and $10,000, respectively to the state.
Adjusted gross revenue would be taxed at a 9.75% rate for retail operators and 14.25% for online.