Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has vetoed a bill that would have introduced a series of changes to sports betting and horse racing laws in the Bluegrass State.
Introduced at the start of March, House Bill 904 had been approved by both the Kentucky House and Senate. It was passed to Governor Beshear earlier in April for signature.
Key features of the bill included raising the minimum age of legal sports betting from 18 to 21. It would also have barred licensed operators from running prediction markets or offering ‘under’ prop bets on college athletes from schools in the state.
In terms of horse racing, the bill would have required tracks to update pari-mutuel wagering systems and to put in place fixed-odds wagering. Tracks would also have been barred from partnering with prediction markets, while certain measures were proposed for horse breeding.
Among the other aspects was a plan to create regulatory framework for daily fantasy sports and additional measures on charitable gaming, including setting guidelines for the location of machines.
Beshear raises concerns over Kentucky regulator powers
However, it was a section regarding regulatory organisations in the state that caught the eye of the Governor.
Beshear raised concerns over certain powers that would be handed to the Kentucky Lottery Corporation and Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Commission. He highlighted how they would be permitted to “file emergency and ordinary administrative regulations without the Governor’s review and signature”.
“Under the Kentucky Constitution, the Governor is the Chief Magistrate of the Executive Branch and has a duty to ensure all laws are faithfully executed, including by agencies carrying out the laws through regulation,” Beshear said. “In that role, the Governor reviews proposed emergency regulations to ensure they are necessary and meet legal requirements for emergency filing.
“Authorising an agency to file an emergency regulation in this manner would prevent the Governor from carrying out his constructional duties and allow boards and agencies to impose rules on Kentuckians without executive oversight, including boards whose decisions impact public safety.
“For those reasons, I am vetoing House Bill 904.”
