Kentucky Gets Sports Betting Laws With Gov Beshear Signature

• After two years of consistent sports betting bills being passed through the Kentucky legislature, KY HB 551 has reached the Governor’s desk and was signed into law this morning.
• All residents aged 18 and up will be able to bet online through operators or at licensed horse tracks.
• The bill’s supporters have estimated that the state will generate at least $23 million per year.

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Kentucky has passed a sports legalization bill and attained Governor Andy Beshear’s signature on Thursday. Now being a law, the bill will create both online and retail sports betting in Kentucky as well as creating a problem gambling fund for social programs.

The bill passed by a narrow margin, garnering 25 votes, two more than needed to successfully push it through the Senate. Now with Governor Beshear’s signature, Kentucky sports betting is set to take off in a big way.

What Does HB 551 Do?

HB 551 was the passed legalization bill created by Representative Michael Meredith. The main purpose of the bill is to legalize retail sports betting at any licensed horse track in KY as well as allowing those tracks to partner with up to three sportsbook skins each for a total of 27 operators.

The bill is estimated to bring in at least $23 million in revenue, with 2.5% of sports betting revenue being set aside for the creation of a problem gambling fund. While no specific plans have been set out for this fund, it is expected to be used for a social program that will combat gambling addiction and other betting-related issues.

The presiding authority for the regulation of both online and retail sports betting will be the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, which will also be in charge of awarding and vetting licenses to operators and tracks alike.

Speaking of licenses, each track will be required to pay a $500,000 initial fee with a $50,000 annual renewal fee. For partnered online operators, each will pay a $50,000 initial fee and a $10,000 renewal fee.

While the full list of events and leagues able to be bet on have not been released yet, it has been confirmed that college events, the Olympics, some amateur events, eSports, and major professional sports leagues will be included.

The voting for the bill was also incredibly close, as the bill entered the day expected to fail much like how it turned out last year. Yet, the key contributions of a few Senators like Brandon Smith and Karen Berg, who took the stance of carrying out what their district residents wanted, made the difference.

While as of now no plans for moving forward with creating the sports betting infrastructure have been created, the monumental passing of legal sports betting in Kentucky is a testament to how much steam the movement is picking up.

Now with Kentucky becoming the 37th U.S. state to sign sports gambling bills into law, only about a quarter remain.

News tags: Andy Beshear | Brandon Smith | Karen Berg | Kentucky | Kentucky Horse Racing Commission | KY HB 551 | Michael Meredith