Kentucky casino bill would give control to voters

Posted: January 8, 2025, 04:17 pm.

Last updated: January 8, 2025, 04:17 pm.

January marks the start of a new year and legislatures across the country are convening for their 2025 sessions. Gaming expansion is again a topic of discussion in many state capitals, and it also lends itself to Kentucky, a state that has long banned most forms of gambling.

On Tuesday, Kentucky Representative Thomas Huff (R-Bullitt) filed House Bill 33, a measure to allow counties and their local voters to decide whether commercial casino gambling operates in their communities. If this legislation is passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Andy Beshear (D), it would task the Kentucky Racing and Gaming Corporation (KHRGC) with regulating brick-and-mortar commercial casinos.

In addition to the excise tax, Huff wants each casino to pay $3 for each person admitted to its gaming floor.

County Requirements

The Huff bill limits where casinos can operate. The language stipulates that casinos can only be established in counties that have a minimum of 30K residents. Those doing so may initiate a local ballot referendum asking voters to authorize casino gambling, either by a county legislative body passing an ordinance or through a citizen-led initiative to conduct a gaming poll. Through a petition in which signatures of at least 25% of the people should be secured. of votes cast in the last previous “regular” election.

Counties with fewer than 30 thousand people can partner with neighboring counties to exceed the resident limit and qualify for a casino. Then a local referendum would be required to go through the above conditions.

Counties with fewer than 30 thousand residents can also obtain casino privileges if they are currently home to a licensed racing association.

Upon a successful local referendum authorizing casino gambling, county officials would be required to issue a request for casino proposals through competitive bidding. Once a gaming developer and operator are secured, the proposal will be submitted to the KHRGC for review.

never say Never

Kentucky lawmakers have opposed most efforts to expand gaming in the Bluegrass State for decades. Kentucky is a “highly religious” state Pew Research More than six in 10 adults say religion is “very important to their lives,” according to the report.

Republicans have significant control of both houses of the legislature, holding 80 of the 100 House seats and 31 of the 38 Senate seats. While Republicans have not been enthusiastic about casinos in Kentucky, they have turned to other forms of gaming.

Kentucky lawmakers legalized online sports betting on the day of their final session in March 2023. Two years earlier, they had authorized slot-like historic horse racing (HHR) machines at parimutuel facilities and horse racetracks.

From July 1 through November, the start of the state's 2025 fiscal year, HHR had gross revenues of more than $302.4 million on more than $3.3 billion in bets. About $252.5 million remained with the track. The Horse Racing Development Fund received $26.9 million. The state general fund collected approximately $23 million.