gambling in Kentucky

House Bill 594, better known as the bill to ban unregulated and untaxed gaming machines known as "gray machines" in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, was signed into law Thursday, Mar. 16 by Governor Andy Beshear. Kentucky is the first state to pass stand-alone legislation banning unregulated gambling machines. For more information, see our story from last month outlining the threat of gray machines, which made them the main focus of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers' Club (KTFMC)'s monthly meeting. Visit here for information stemming from when the Bill passed the...

Kentucky State representative Adam Koenig (R-Erlanger) introduced four new gaming-related bills Monday, including one (HB 607) dealing with pari-mutuel wagering taxation that includes a provision whereby dividends on pari-mutuel wagers would be rounded to the nearest penny, rather than the nearest $0.10. "This is an exciting step for horseplayers, not only in Kentucky but really anyone in America or around the world who bets into the pools offered on Kentucky racing," said Pat Cummings, Executive Director of the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation, which has been a staunch advocate for a switch...

The bill that attempts to legalize historical horse race (HHR) gaming in Kentucky by inserting a one-paragraph definition of "pari-mutuel wagering" into an existing state statute advanced with a favorable recommendation out of the Senate Licensing and Occupations Committee Feb. 4. SB120 will now be scheduled for a hearing before the full Kentucky Senate. Proponents testified that Kentucky's racing industry is in danger of economic devastation without the support of HHR to bolster purses, and that defining "pari-mutuel" for the first time within state laws is the appropriate way to...