The Kentucky state senate’s 2022 legislative session has ended with no vote on sports betting legislation. It’s the fourth year in a row that legislation failed to make it through.
House Bill 606, sponsored by Rep. Adam Koenig, was approved in the 100-member House in a 58-30 vote in March. But the bill faced resistance in the Senate, where Republicans outnumber Democrats 30-8. Senate president Robert Stivers had said he didn’t believe the votes existed in the Senate to approve the sports wagering bill, and the bill didn’t get a formal vote.
Senate majority leader Damon Thayer, a sports betting supporter, said he was disappointed in the outcome but will continue to advocate for sports betting in next year’s legislative session, beginning in January 2023.
HB 606 would have allowed Kentucky’s licensed horse tracks, including Churchill Downs and Keeneland, to partner with a mobile sports betting operators such as DraftKings, FanDuel, or Caesars. Licensees would have been allowed to offer in-person sports betting at horse tracks and two other track-owned facilities – such as a gaming hall or simulcast facility — through sportsbooks licensed by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC).
Koenig claimed the bill would have generated an estimated $22.5m in annual revenue for the state. He cited estimates that more than $2bn is wagered illegally on sports each year in the state.
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