Betting on college games allowed in Kentucky

With a full room, the vote to make changes to the betting bill in Kentucky was passed last week. In just over 30 minutes the committee voted to pass the changes with very little dissension from the members present.

The main change that was put in place during the session was the lifting of a ban on betting on college sports within the state. It means that Kentucky residents will be able to bet on their favourite college team for the first time. The reason that this was pushed through was because the representatives felt that people who wanted to place wagers on sports teams would either travel to another state to do so or use black market gambling.

Even though the bill has been passed and the ban removed, the athletic departments within the state has confirmed that the schools within the state won’t have an opinion on the move.

In a statement they said that their aim is to make sure that the students at the schools are protected. This will be through ensuring the students are educated about the variety of issues that surround sports betting and their own conduct. They said that they will make sure to do their best in order to keep the competition fair and to stop match fixing from becoming prevalent.

There are no casinos within Kentucky, but there are a number of casinos in the surrounding states. It means that anyone wanting to take part in casino gaming in a brick and mortar building will have to make their way to a neighbouring state. There is a range of sports betting options in surrounding states as well which is what prompted the move to legalise college sports betting.

Expected increases in tax revenues

An economist who used to work within the Kentucky state government said that the new bill should increase tax revenue for the year by almost $25 million. This will have influenced the decision slightly as well as the other reasons lined out.

The tax revenue is set at a forecast of almost $50 per adult person within the state. This is set at the same level as similar states and extrapolated from there.

Licenses for operators to offer college sports betting would be set at half a million dollars with renewals costing an additional $50,000.

The horse racing commission within the state will also be given the power to oversee the actions of sportsbooks within Kentucky. This will mean that stadiums that host sporting events would be able to apply for a sports betting licence in order to offer betting at events.

The tax rate set for brick and mortar sportsbooks would be set at just over 10%. This would see a portion of this tax going to specific funds in order to help fund the sports. Online sportsbooks would have a tax of almost 15% placed on them. It’s been confirmed that 5% of all tax revenue will go towards gambling charities and problem gambling programs.

Anyone over the age of 18 would be able to place bets at a sportsbook, the same as the current legal age for racing bets.