In anticipation for a possible hearing this week, the organization launched a social media campaign urging residents to let the legislature know they support the measure. The group said thousands sent messages.<\/p>\n
Koenig expects the committee to vote on the bill Wednesday, and believes it will get to the House floor.<\/p>\n
\nI like my chances of passing it out of the House,\u201d<\/strong> he told Casino.org<\/em> Tuesday night.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nIt still would need to pass the state senate as well, and some key lawmakers in that chamber have expressed support for the bill. However, it remains uncertain what would happen to the sports betting bill there should House lawmakers approve it.<\/p>\n
State Sen. David Yates, D-Louisville, has sponsored a sports betting bill in that chamber, and while it\u2019s been assigned to a committee, it has not received a hearing.<\/p>\n
Kentucky Surrounded by Legal Wagering<\/h2>\n Kentucky essentially finds itself surrounded by states that have legalized sports betting. Six of the seven states around it have approved sports betting since the Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) nearly four years ago. The most recent was Ohio late last year. Only Missouri has yet to pass a bill, and lawmakers there are considering it.<\/p>\n
Yates and other proponents have said that Kentuckians are going across state lines to bet. In some instances, they\u2019re wagering illegally.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we can’t ignore it, it’s here,\u201d<\/strong> Yates told Casino.org<\/em> earlier this month. \u201cIt makes sense for us to properly regulate, and then make sure that the money stays back within our local community.<\/strong> Kentucky for too long has just pretended that issues aren’t here.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\nKoenig noted in a press conference two weeks ago that both Republican- and Democratic-led states have passed sports betting bills. And to allow it in Kentucky would adhere to strong conservative values.<\/p>\n
“People like to talk about freedom, well this is freedom,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is government getting out of the way of allowing adults to make adult decisions. This is government standing in the way of an enterprise that exists.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wednesday\u2019s committee hearing will also include testimony on three other gaming bills Koenig and state Rep. Killian Timoney, D-Lexington, have proposed. Those include earmarking $225 million for a problem gambling fund<\/a>, addressing gray gaming machines, and making pari-mutuel wagering reforms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A bill to legalize sports betting in Kentucky will get a hearing in the General Assembly on Wednesday morning, and the proposal\u2019s sponsor is optimistic about its chances of clearing the state House of Representatives. House Bill 606 will go before the House Licensing, Occupations, and Administrative Regulations Committee in an 8 am ET meeting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":205517,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Kentucky Sports Betting Bill Gets a Committee Hearing on Wednesday<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n