Here We Go Again: Kentucky's Online Gambling Push To Renew In 2022
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Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results. Sometimes the best way to get a piece of legislation through is to keep putting it on the table until the stars align.
Adam Koenig, the main champion of online gambling expansion in the Kentucky legislature, tweeted yesterday that he will reintroduce his sports betting legislation.
Koenig has tried to pass a bill in 2019, 2020 and 2021 but each time it failed. The bill this year may include regulated online poker. Sports betting is the bigger priority in terms of tax revenue. Full iGaming including online casinos is a nonstarter in Kentucky.
In 2022, Koenig's bill will be introduced. Even numbers in the state's legislative cycle will help it pass. The main political reason to legalize gambling is to tax it. Almost two-thirds of states have now legalized it, and public opinion is in favor of it as well. Missouri is considering legalizing it too. State coffers took a hit during COVID. Sports betting is a big boost to states with a full spread of online gambling options.
There is less support in the legislature for Koenig's effort to pass the gambling bill than there is among the general public. The governor is a Democrat, and both halves of the state legislature are strongly Republican. Social conservatives influence the influence of social conservatives in Kentucky Republicans. Getting the bill through the House would require a minimum of 26 Republican votes in favor, likely much more.
Kentucky's online gambling push to renew in 2022. If it fails, it probably won't succeed in 2023. The earliest chance at a change in power would be for the 2024 legislative session. Regulating online betting can take a long time. Alex is a journalist from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.
