Kentucky Could Generate $20 Million Annual Tax Revenue from Sports Betting

By Matt Speakman,
Betting Expert at online-gambling.com

Matt Speakman Betting Expert at online-gambling.com

A die-hard fan of the Patriots, Matt Speakman is an expert on everything related to sports betting and DFS sites. Over the years, he has proven a valuable asset for our team at online-gambling.com. You can find Speakman's professional tips and tricks in any of his many articles on the website.

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Last updated: December 12, 2019

Kentucky is not only planning to legalize sports betting in January 2020, but it is also planning to make mobile sports betting and online poker available within its borders. During the next legislative session in the state that should take place on January 7, 2020, Adam Koenig (a Republican from Erlanger) has a plan to introduce another sports betting bill where mobile sports betting and online poker will be included.

Adam Koenig giving a speech © Casino Connection/Flickr

Koenig and some other lawmakers were inspired by Indiana’s huge success in terms of sports betting. The state of Indiana has generated around $1 million of tax in October as the bet lovers wagered on more than $91 million statewide on sports. Koenig believes that if sports betting both physical and mobile and online gambling are legalized in Kentucky, the Bluegrass State could be able to make around $20 million annual tax revenue. Furthermore, he added that the money received from the tax could be used for regulation and addiction prevention as well as solve the issue with the pension shortfall that Kentucky is facing lately.

New Governor is Pro-Gambling Expansion as Well

Koenig has already proposed a sports betting bill earlier this year, but it even fails to make it to the committee and even if he did, it would have been most likely rejected by governor Matt Bevin who was known for his anti-gambling beliefs. For Koenig’s luck, Bevin lost November’s election against Andy Beshear who seems to stand for pro-gambling expansion. Therefore, if the bill that should be proposed by Koenig next year is similar to the previous one it would tax retail sports betting revenue at 10.25% and mobile revenue at 14.25%. On top of that, the bill might even include a proposal for the legalization of daily fantasy sports.

“You would be able to go to one of the existing tracks and place a bet and/or go to those existing tracks, download their app and then you would be able to use that app anywhere in the state of Kentucky. I like our chances of getting it done.” – stated Koenig regarding his up-coming sports betting bill.

Koenig Also Wants to Protect Horse-Racing Industry

Despite the fact that Kentucky is well-known for horse-betting since a long time ago, it still has no casinos or pro sports teams except for two stellar men’s basketball programs at the University of Kentucky and Louisville. In addition, Kentucky is proud to have a state-run lottery while its horse-betting industry holds all the power of the state.

Koenig also mentioned that he will also fight for the protection of the horse racing industry as he has been reportedly asked by Thaer to include fixed-odds wagering on horse racing when he presents his sports betting bill.

In order to make sports betting, mobile sports betting, online poker legalized while protecting the horse racing industry, the sports betting bill, which is going to be introduced by Koenig, should have more than 60 percent approval by the members of the House in Kentucky. On the other hand, Koenig stated that the sports betting bill that he previously introduced already had 51 percent of the votes in 2019.