Sports betting has good chances in Kentucky

A lawmaker said that he’s confident that legalised sports betting could arrive in the state.

US.- Kentucky Sen. Morgan McGarvey revealed on Thursday that there is a bipartisan group working on a bill that would legalise sports betting in the state. He considers that the odds of the bill passing the General Assembly are good.

The General Assembly meets again in January 2019, therefore the lawmakers have plenty of time left to come up with a strong legislative piece to be evaluated and possibly approved. “This is a way we can get revenue without using the dreaded word ‘tax’,” said McGarvey.

“This is not a panacea. It’s not going to cure all of Kentucky’s financial woes. But it is a way to get some money coming to already depleted coffers,” McGarvey said and added that sports betting revenue could help cover some deficits in social services, like Medicaid.

“We still don’t have enough revenue to operate the basic needs and obligations of state government as it currently exists,” McGarvey said. “It’s a way for us to generate revenue from something that’s going on already.”

On the other hand, Martin Cothran, spokesman for the Kentucky Family Foundation, said that sports betting is not “a good policy” because it’s a moral issue. “There are just too many problems associated with it,” he said. “When you’re talking about doing it at the level it would have to be done to gain the financial benefits the proponents want, there is nothing you’re going to be able to do at that level.”