Carroll files new bill on sports wagering

Kentucky Sen. Julian M. Carroll, D-Frankfort, filed legislation Friday to set the framework to allow any horse racing track or off-track wagering facility to offer sports wagering.

The legislation is essentially the same bill that was filed last year in anticipation of the United States Supreme Court decision issued earlier this month. The ruling found the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, commonly known as PASPA, to be unconstitutional. PASPA, a federal law, prohibited sports wagering nationwide while excluding a few states.

Carroll's bill did not get a hearing during the 2018 legislative session. "Because of the General Assembly's failure to act on this bill last year, Kentucky is losing revenue daily that could be funding our schools and public employees. And frankly, our residents are now vulnerable to an unregulated sports wagering market," Carroll said.

A report conducted last year estimates that 32 states will offer regulated sports wagering by 2023, which will result in a market worth $6.03 billion in annual revenue for the states.

The bill requires a majority of the revenue generated from sports wagering to be deposited into the Kentucky Employees Retirement Systems Non-Hazardous and Kentucky Teachers' Retirement Systems proportionally. The Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship will also benefit, with the remaining going toward horse racing development funds.

The sports wagering bill will be considered during the next regular session beginning January 2019.

This article is provided via the Kentucky Press News Service.

This story was originally published June 18, 2018 at 11:24 AM with the headline "Carroll files new bill on sports wagering."