Sports leagues to lobby in Kentucky for sports betting
The NBA, NFL and the PGA are ready to push for the state’s General Assembly to pass sports betting legislation in 2019.
US.- The sports betting segment is being legalised in several states after the Supreme Court cleared the way for it. That’s why some major sports leagues in the US are set to lobby the Kentucky General Assembly, in order to get a sports wagering bill passed in 2019.
It is expected that the General Assembly will be under heavy lobbying by representatives of the NBA (basketball), the NFL (American football) and the PGA Tour (Golf), which will seek to get a bill passed the way they want it to be approved.
“One thing they appear to want is some sort of fee built into the legislation, that the state would pay them a certain percentage of the gambling proceeds in order to help pay for their efforts to keep the integrity of their games high,” Legislative Ethics Commission member John Schaaf said.
A draft is already under development by several lawmakers that race against the clock in order to get it done before the session starts in January. They have already ruled out high school games from the segment but are still to determine whether college sports will be included or not.
Should a bill make it through the Legislature, Gov. Matt Bevin is expected to be open to sports betting legislation, even as he remains critical of casino gambling.
