The Kentucky State Supreme Court has ruled historical racing gambling machines found in three of the Commonwealth’s five gaming venues not to be pari-mutuel wagering. Casino gambling is illegal in Kentucky.
Kentucky’s Family Foundation took the issue to court years ago. Foundation Spokesman Martin Cothran says it will likely mean less wagering in the state. “It probably will. You know we’ve always opposed expanded gambling, particularly forms of it that were unconstitutional. That’s basically what this is. Yeah we could make a whole lot more money by simply ignoring the Constitution. We could make a whole lot more money by letting people ignore the law,” said Cothran.
Cothran said the Family Foundation has called upon operators at these venues to turn the machines off.
Governor Beshear called the ruling devastating to the horse industry and said it could mean a loss of $21 million to the state budget. The governor said he’s already working to, quote, “find a path forward.” “If it’s going to take a legislative change, we need to make the legislative change to keep our horse industry competitive, but to keep our Commonwealth competitive. We need a lot more types of gaming to compete with those around us,” said Beshear.
The ruling by the Kentucky State Supreme Court was unanimous. Historical racing gaming involves the wagering on previously run horse races.
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