Kentucky Sports Betting Bill Passes the First Committee

Kentucky Sports Betting Bill Passes the First Committee

Kentucky Sports Betting Bill Passes the First CommitteeHouse Bill 137 in Kentucky has been the recent talk in the U.S. sports betting market.  This is because it would allow legal sports betting in Kentucky at racetracks and even online.  Yesterday, the Kentucky Licensing, Occupations and Administrative Regulations Committee took a vote on it.  In the end, this was a victory for bettors as the Kentucky Sports Betting Bill Passes the First Committee

According to sportsbook Pay Per Head Services, Bill 137 made it thru with a unanimous vote in favor of it. However, a few changes were made to House Bill 137 which is the brainchild of State Representative Adam Koenig.

The most notable change concerns the removal of the ban on in-state college sports teams. The ban was taken out because of several reasons which include not wanting to push people to bet elsewhere.  Thus, by taking it out, it would keep sports gamblers from betting outside of KY or thru an illegal bookie.

Kentucky Sports Betting Bill Must Now Pass the House of Representative

Now that KY House Bill 137 has the approval of the Committee, it will go to the House of Representatives. However, it may be difficult to pass as they still have a lot of challenges and oppositions ahead of them.

On the other hand, the Kentucky and Louisville athletic departments are at least neutral on Bill 137.  This is even despite the removal of the college betting ban. Thus, College Bookies are happy with the news. In a statement, they said that their priorities are “to protect the best interest of our student-athletes”.  Thus, they will “continue to be proactive in educating our student-athletes about the issues surrounding sports wagering in order to protect their welfare”.

Those whose are looking to become a bookie in Kentucky are closely monitoring the situation. This is because the revenue forecast for sports betting in Kentucky would help the state revenues. Furthermore, they estimate that the sports betting annual tax could be as high as $22.5 million.

If the Kentucky Sports Betting Bill passes, sportsbooks would have to pay an initial license fee of $500,000. Afterwards, the annual renewal fee would be $50,000. In addition, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission would be the body to oversee sports betting in Kentucky.

Bookie Pay Per Head Service