FRANKFORT, Ky. — Supporters of legalizing sports betting in Kentucky notched a crucial victory Friday, when the state House passed a measure to regulate the wagering and reap tax revenue from the activity.
The ultimate outcome is still in question as House Bill 606 goes to the Senate after clearing the House on a 58-30 vote. Republicans have supermajorities in both chambers, but the issue has divided GOP ranks. There's also a time crunch — Friday was the 51st day of this year's 60-day legislative session.
Similar measures died in prior years, a reflection of how divisive gambling is in the state that’s home to Churchill Downs, where the Kentucky Derby is run.
Supporters said the bill is an acknowledgment that wagering on sports contests is an entrenched reality. Republican Rep. Adam Koenig, the bill's lead sponsor, cited estimates that more than $2 billion is wagered illegally on sports each year in Kentucky. The measure would bring “activities that go on in every corner of this state out of the darkness and into the light,” he said.
“The fact is, we’ve been betting on sports in America since they invented sports,” Koenig said.
Tax revenue generated from sports betting would flow into the state public pension system. Sports wagering is expected to generate at least $22.5 million a year in revenue, Koenig said.
Kentucky is among 17 states that haven't legalized sports betting in recent years, he said.
Opponents warned that the temptation of sports wagering would drain money from families and predicted that the social costs from the gambling would far exceed the revenue gains.
Republican Rep. Josh Calloway called it “an irresponsible way to drive revenue.”
Stressing the gambling-related damage he predicted it would inflict on families, Calloway said: “That's what concerns me about this particular bill — is that when we put things out in front of people ... that causes them to indulge without self-control.”
The sports wagering measure is part of a broad package of gambling-related bills being considered by Kentucky lawmakers.
Another bill that won House passage Friday would ban the use of so-called gray machines, which look like slot machines and pay out cash prizes to successful players. The machines have proliferated in convenience stores across the state. The measure cleared the House on a 50-31 vote to advance to the Senate.
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