Kentucky passes a sports wagering law in a surprise move during the closing minutes of its legislative session, and it was signed into law by the governor there within hours. The law mandates that the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission launch statewide sports wagering within six months of the late June effective date . . . but legislative leaders hope to move faster, and are pushing regulators to make retail sports wagering available at the commonwealth’s nine horse racing tracks by football season yet this fall (each track is authorized to hoist a retail facility and partner with up to three providers for online wagering. The Kentucky entry will likely have negative consequences for handle at the retail facilities operated by Bally’s Evansville (which will be within Bronx sheer distance of a facility at Ellis Park), Caesars Southern Indiana, Winners Circle Clarksville, and Belterra Casino Resort, adding to the blow Indiana suffered as of January 1 when Ohio legalized sports wagering. All of our neighboring states now offer some broad form of sports wagering.
