Sportsbetting Won't Come to Kentucky This Year

The Bluegrass State isn't getting legalized sportsbetting this year after Kentucky lawmakers failed to pass through a bill that would authorize the activity within state borders.

The failure is the fourth year in a row that an attempt to legalize sportsbetting in Kentucky has failed, as House Bill 606 failed to get through the state's Senate without a vote. The bill passed through Kentucky's House with a 58-30 margin last month, but the strong Republican presence in the Senate didn't have the votes in favor to put the measure up for debate and a vote.

The bill would have allowed operators like DraftKings, Caesars, and FanDuel to partner with big names likes like Churchill Downs to provide legal sportsbetting that could also be played on smartphones. It's believed that legalized sportsbetting would provide $22.5 million in revenues for the state's tax coffers.

The state's next legislative session is slated to begin in January 2023 and runs through the middle of April that year. Without a massive overhaul of lawmaker rosters, its unlikely that next year will see a result much different than this year.