It wasn’t so long ago that it seemed like the state of Kentucky was heading for a bright future in terms of online poker…or rather, online gambling in general. Yet, it seems like any hope of that becoming a reality have since been dashed for the moment.
There was hope that a new bill would see the regulation of an online gambling industry within Kentucky this year. Yet, according to Rep. Adam Koenig, who has been operating as one of the main proponents of the legalisation, there has been no discussion relating to online poker or other gambling activities.
As a result of this, the proposed bill has officially been shelved for the moment, which means that it won’t be re-approached again until 2020. Speaking of the route that the bill has gone, Koenig said that nothing is completely dead until the clock strikes midnight on the final day of session. However, he went on to say that the need for a supermajority of the votes was such a high bar that it would be impossible to reach in such a short time period.
The bill does have a lot of support behind it, but supermajority votes are exceptionally hard to achieve.
Where Do Things Go from Here?
Koenig will now need to achieve a simply majority vote in 2020, rather than a supermajority that was necessary this year. That, he believes, will be a far simpler undertaking to achieve. This means that he only needs to receive a 60% majority vote from both the House of Representatives and the Senate, too. That’s a scenario that would be most likely to take place, even if political issues should arise.
The gaming bill in question will bring sports betting, online poker, casino gambling and everything else associated with the industry to a legal status within Kentucky. It’s actually something that replicates the success of the model that currently exists in New Jersey, giving people the opportunity to utilise mobile apps and devices for wagering.
Licences handed out in the state would mean that applicants would need to pay up $500,000, with extra taxes added on top for gaming operation. That could be up to 10.25% of the income from such, meaning that Kentucky could only benefit from such a bill. When you also consider that mobile apps would be taxed 14.25%, it stands as quite the earner for the state.
It’s a well-known fact within, that issues have risen from pension schemes in The Bluegrass State, thanks to funds supporting quite the deficit. Originally, it was believed that the legalisation of online gambling in Kentucky could assist with that deficit, alongside the legalisation of marijuana. That idea has since been dismissed, which is another reason why online poker is not currently operating or even in the process of being set up there.
