Kentucky State Rep. Michael Meredith Talks Sports Betting Legalization

Exclusive Q&A with Rep. Michael Meredith on Kentucky's sports betting bill and its potential economic and social impacts.

Kentucky has just legalized sports betting, and Gambling.Re recently had the opportunity to interview Rep. Michael Meredith, R-Oakland, who is the sponsor of the bill. We asked him several questions regarding the challenges and opportunities in legalizing sports betting in Kentucky, and he shared some insightful answers.

When asked about the main hurdle in legalizing sports betting in Kentucky, and how he plans to overcome it with the new bill, Rep. Meredith stated that the main hurdle was garnering enough votes to pass the full Senate. He added that they were able to achieve this by removing online poker and daily fantasy sports from the bill, which had been sticking points in previous years. Additionally, they included a fund for problem gaming, which had been requested by some Senators. He emphasized that they made the case that the time had come for sports wagering in Kentucky, especially in some of the rural districts, where people wanted it.

On the balance between potential economic benefits and concerns about the social impact of sports betting, Rep. Meredith pointed out that six out of seven border states have already legalized some form of sports wagering in their jurisdictions. He stated that a significant percentage of the Kentucky population can drive across state lines and bet legally in those states with less than an hour of drive time. He added that knowing that many are participating in legal wagering in border states and with an estimated $1.1 billion bet illegally through bookies or offshore websites annually, any of the societal issues associated with sports wagering already exist. He believes that legalizing sports betting in Kentucky will simply allow consumers to keep their dollars in Kentucky and participate in a regulated marketplace that provides consumer protections. Moreover, the state will benefit from this, with an estimated revenue of $22-$22 million each year, and they plan to set aside 2.5% of the tax money to assist with problem gaming initiatives.

When asked if neighboring states already having legalized sports betting put Kentucky at a disadvantage in terms of revenue loss due to residents crossing state lines to bet on major events, Rep. Meredith stated that their tax rates and licensing fees are competitive with their border states. He added that they don't have the lowest or the highest of either, but they make them competitive in the marketplace, especially since all of the programs are relatively new.

Regarding the models or states that Kentucky looked to for guidance in crafting this bill, Rep. Meredith stated that former Rep. Koenig, the previous sponsor of sports wagering, researched and worked with experts in lots of states to craft his bill. They used a substantial portion of his foundational work to craft their bill. While working with the Horse Racing Commission, their staff and they looked at legislation from both Indiana and Louisiana, and they worked with stakeholders from the industry who brought ideas of what to do and not to do based on what they had experienced in other states.

Finally, when asked about when Kentucky residents could legally place their bets if the bill is passed, Rep. Meredith mentioned that the bill has passed and been signed into law by the Governor, and the legislation’s effective date will be in late June. He added that the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission will have 6 months to get the program up and running after that date, so he expects the first wagers to be in December of this year or January of next.