Efforts to legalize sports betting and online poker in the state of Kentucky will have to wait yet another year.
This past week, legislation on the table to authorize in-person and mobile sportsbooks and a state-regulated online poker system fell by the wayside. Kentucky has tried to legalize both sports betting and online poker since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a federal sports betting ban in mid-2018.
Kentucky neighbors Ohio, Tennessee, Indiana, West Virginia, Virginia, and Illinois all have legalized online sports betting. None of them have online poker, though.
A Kentucky state senator was interviewed by local reporters after the legislation died. He said that the legislation had “more energy than it’s ever had before.”
He added that he’s optimistic the votes could be there in 2023.
Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer (R-Georgetown) also took a swipe at Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat. Thayer criticized Beshear’s position in favor of gambling expansion by saying the governor didn’t put in the work to sway lawmakers.
This year, the bill once again found traction in the House, before dying in the Senate.