Kentucky forms bipartisan panel to draft sports betting legislation

Roughly a month after U.S. Supreme Court's ruling freed up states to make their own decisions on sports gambling, Several state legislatures — including those in Pennsylvania and New Jersey — preemptively drafted legislation on the issue.

Although Kentucky has been resistant to expanded gambling in the form of casinos the state legislature appears a little more open to legalized sports betting.

Kentucky's panel is made up of six members of the Kentucky House of Representatives and three members from the Kentucky Senate, representing about 20 Kentucky counties, according to a news release. The panel members are: Reps. Jason Nemes, R-Louisville; John Sims, D-Flemingsburg; Diane St. Onge, R-Fort Wright; Kim Moser, R-Taylor Mill; George Brown, D-Lexington; and Dean Schamore, D-Hardinsburg; and Sens. Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville; Morgan McGarvey, D-Louisville; and Julian Carroll, D-Frankfort.

As reported by Louisville Business First, the panel is tasked with drafting and filing legislation that implements sports betting and a regulatory platform to oversee the industry statewide. That includes filing companion bills in both state chambers for a new revenue stream that could generate $5.5 million to nearly $26 million per year in new tax revenues for the state, according to state projections.

The state's legislation will be geared toward legalized sports betting on professional sports and possibly collegiate sports in a limited capacity, according to the release. Bets on high school sports or any other sports below the collegiate level would be banned in Kentucky.

It was not immediately known what tax rate the panel could offer on sports bets or whether the legislation will include integrity fees, which are essentially taxes on sport books that would be collected and distributed to the nation's largest sports leagues.

Gov. Matt Bevin said last month that he would not dismiss a sports-betting bill without seeing it and said it likely would be addressed by the legislature. He also praised the Supreme Court's decision to strike down PASPA, saying the law had limited states' regulatory powers.

And Damon Thayer, Kentucky's Senate majority leader, joined other state lawmakers last month by coming out in favor of legalized sports gambling.

Locally, Churchill Downs Inc. announced last month that it will enter the real-money online gaming and sports- betting markets with a new partnership.