Kentucky Casino And Fantasy Sport Regulation Bill Introduced in House
Kentucky Rep. Thomas Huff filed a bill to legalize casino gaming in the state in the 2025 legislative session. The bill would allow voters the option to host retail casinos in their communities, while the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation (KHRGC) would regulate the new gambling vertical, as well as fantasy sports contests.
House Bill 33 aims to establish licensing requirements for three types of casinos: full, limited, and riverboat. The regulator will award limited casino licenses to racing associations that meet those requirements, allowing them to operate electronic gaming devices.
Additionally, the bill creates a framework that allows voters to determine whether or not to legalize retail casino gaming at the county level. It will also enable the regulator to solicit casino licensing bids within its regulatory capabilities, making it the only governmental agency authorized to engage in such activities.
Counties would vote on casino expansion
Huff’s bill seeks to legalize retail casinos by amending two revised statutes. The first defines casino wagering terms, and the second confirms that the KHRGC will regulate the Kentucky casino industry, just as it does for the state’s longstanding horse racing and much newer sports betting industries.
Counties with at least 30,000 residents or (multiple adjoining counties with a population exceeding 30,000) may conduct local option elections to approve casino gaming. Each county’s legislative body must pass an ordinance for the election.
If passed, these counties can operate casinos that offer electronic gaming machines and table games, such as blackjack, roulette and poker. Depending on their geographical location, they will receive a full casino license for a land-based casino, or a riverboat casino license for a casino on a boat or vessel moored within the accompanying county or counties.
Counties with less than 30,000 residents can have a local election option if they have a licensed racing association facility. They will be granted a limited casino license, which only allows for electronic gaming machines.
Committee will take up the bill
With its introduction, HB 33 enters the legislative process like all other bills. The House’s Committee on Committees will assign it to a specific committee, where it must receive a majority of support to reach the House floor.
If it passes through the House, it will go to a Senate committee and then to the Senate floor. It must have enough support at every level to reach the governor’s desk, where it can complete the process and be signed into law.
Of course, the passage of this bill would only establish the framework for casinos. Under the framework, each county would determine whether to join the industry. Participating counties would then work with the regulator to determine the best bid.
Casino license bids must exceed $450,000 for limited licenses, $550,000 for riverboat licenses and $750,000 for full licenses.
The bill also includes a 21% tax on Kentucky casinos’ gross gaming revenue. Lastly, all riverboats and full casinos will need to charge a $3 admission fee for every guest.
Horse racing has dominated in Kentucky, but gambling has expanded in recent years
Kentucky’s gambling history has primarily centered around horse racing and dates back more than a century when the state established its first racing commission in 1906. The KHRGC was formed in 2024 as a response to recent gambling expansions, which included Historical Horse Racing (HHR) machines in 2021 and sports betting in 2023.
That said, it took several attempts for sports betting legislation to pass. A 2022 gambling bill included online poker and daily fantasy sports, neither of which were favorably received in the Senate despite passing through the House.
The 2022 bill was the state’s fourth attempt to pass legislation regulating online gaming. However, removing additional forms of iGaming appeared to kill any further chances of similar games passing.
If HB 33 passes, retail casinos could create a new avenue toward legalizing online casinos in the future. It would take years to materialize and garner enough support, but we could still see an online casino proposal introduced sometime this decade.
https://www.playusa.com/kentucky-casino-and-fantasy-sport-regulation-bill-introduced-in-house/