Kentucky lawmakers are determined to roll out an online sports betting industry before the end of the year.
Gov. Andy Beshear signed HB 551 into law earlier this month, officially legalizing sports betting for anyone aged 18 or older in the Bluegrass State.
It made Kentucky the 37th state to legalize sports betting, and the first to do so in 2023.
Lawmakers will now need to fine tune a regulatory framework for the new market and issue licenses to operators.
Beshear, a long-time advocate of sports betting, wants the launch to be expedited, and he has reached out to New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy for support.
New Jersey was the first state to introduce an online sports wagering industry after the Supreme Court overturned a federal ban called PASPA in 2018.
Beshear said he hopes that online sports betting can begin in time for the new NFL season in the fall, but he could not guarantee it.
Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer told Casino.org that the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission is working hard to ensure sportsbooks are launched at some time during the upcoming football season.
Thayer said that KHRC Chairman Jonathan Rabinowitz “knows that the public would love to be able to bet on football this fall, and he told me that he and the racing commission are going to work with the racetracks and the online providers to try to have one or the other available by football season.”
