Legislation making it legal for Kentuckians to place bets on sporting events passed through the House Licensing and Occupations Committee meeting on Wednesday.
House Bill 606, sponsored by Rep. Adam Koenig, would give people the ability to place bets in person at Kentucky racetracks with a tax of 9.75 percent and online with a 14.25 percent tax rate.
Koenig said the money generated through tax revenues would go toward Kentucky’s underfunded public pension systems. He also noted that sports wagering is legal in 33 other states as well as the District of Columbia.
The committee also passed other pieces of legislation related to gaming including House Bill 607 which comes as a result of the Pari-Mutuel Task Force following the passage of Senate Bill 120 during the 2021 session, which again allowed historical horse racing in Kentucky.
House Bill 609, also sponsored by Koenig, was also heard and passed to use money from a gaming settlement to provide awareness and prevention services around gaming that Kentucky does not currently provide.
And House Bill 608, sponsored by Rep. Killian Timoney, bans any game machine that falls outside of the lottery, charitable gaming, horse racing, and historical horse racing.
House Bill 606, 607, 608, and 609 passed through the committee and now move to the House floor for consideration.
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