Legislation that would legalize and regulate sports betting, fantasy sports contests and online poker in Kentucky advanced from a committee to the full House Wednesday.
House Bill 175 would allow licensed wagering on sanctioned professional and college sporting events at Kentucky horse tracks, Kentucky Speedway, or through an app downloaded at one of those locations.
Online poker would be regulated by the Kentucky Lottery under the bill, which also sets out a regulatory framework for operation of fantasy sports contests.
A firm called Commonwealth Economics testified last week that sports wagering alone would generate at least $20 million in annual tax revenue for Kentucky.
All of that revenue—minus administrative costs and five percent set aside for the state’s problem gambling assistance fund—would go to pay down Kentucky’s public pension debt, according to Representative Adam Koenig, who is sponsoring the bill.
Kentucky is one of several states to consider legalizing sports wagering after the U.S. Supreme Court last year overturned a federal law that prevented states from allowing sports wagering.