Attorney General wants legal gambling in Kentucky

The Kentucky Attorney General called lawmakers to legalise gambling in order to finance pension funds with tax revenue.

US.- Gambling could soon come to Kentucky if state lawmakers hear local Attorney General Andy Beshear’s request. In order to finance struggling pension funds, Mr Beshear wants the Legislature to pass legislation in order to authorise gambling in the state and create a new source of revenue.

“The solution is not to cut legally promised benefits, but to create a new stream of revenue dedicated solely to pensions that does not raise any Kentuckian’s taxes,” the Attorney General said in a letter to members of the state’s General Assembly and added: “The answer should be simple – expanded gaming including casino, fantasy sports, and sports gaming, as well as preparing for the eventual legalization of online poker.”

Mr Beshear based his request on an American Gaming Association’s report that showed the commercial gaming industry brought in more than US$40 billion in gaming revenue from 24 states in 2017. Out of that income, states got over US$9 billion in revenue just from commercial gaming taxes.

“Tax revenues in these states from gaming now total more than $2.4 billion per year,” he wrote about locals’ gambling trips to Indiana, Illinois, West Virginia, and Ohio and added: “These states use these dollars – many of which come from Kentuckians – to improve Indiana’s schools, West Virginia’s infrastructure, and these states could even use our dollars to fund their pensions.”