Bill to Allow Online Poker & Sports Betting in KY Advances to State Senate. In separate legislation, the House reduced the amount earmarked for the state’s problem gambling fund to $50 million, down from $225 million. Kentucky lawmakers are hoping that the third time’s the charm and that a bill to allow online poker and sports betting in KY will finally win passage in 2022.
While the bill in question, HB 606 , passed the state House of Representatives by a 58-30 vote on March 18, time is running out for it to gain approval in the Senate . The Kentucky General Assembly adjourns sine die on April 14, and only seven regular session days — including Wednesday, March 23 — remain on the calendar.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Adam Koenig (R-Erlanger), told lawmakers that the state estimates sports betting alone would net $22.5 million in annual tax revenue . “Given how many states have exceeded their projections, I think $22.5 million is probably a minimum,” Koenig said, according to the Owensboro Times .
How much the state would get in tax revenue from legal, regulated online poker is unclear, but HB 606 in its current form would levy a monthly gaming fee of 6.75% of net poker revenue . Kentucky’s population of 4.5 million is roughly equal to the combined populations of Connecticut (3.6 million) and Delaware (990k) — two states that have legal poker, but no private operators currently offering it to customers.
Under HB 606 in its current form, poker operators would pay an initial licensing fee of $250,000 and annual renewals would cost $10,000 .
If online poker and sports betting become legal in Kentucky , they will likely be offered through the state’s seven horse racetracks. HB 606 would allow each track to have one skin for sports betting, but they could also open up to two retail sportsbooks off-site within a 60-mile radius of the track. The additional retail facilities would not be allowed on property adjacent to the track.
The bill also stipulates that any retail sportsbooks within the 60-mile zone of another track would need written approval […]
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