Kentucky’s gambling laws have had to keep pace with sports betting, fantasy contests, and now prediction markets, all growing faster than most states anticipated when they first legalized wagering. HB 904 is a broad update to that framework.
The bill raises the minimum age for sports wagering in Kentucky from 18 to 21, bringing it in line with most other states that allow it. It bans sportsbooks from offering prop bets tied to an individual Kentucky college athlete failing to meet a performance threshold, closing off a type of bet that’s drawn national concern for exposing student athletes to harassment. It puts new licensing, audit, and fraud-prevention requirements on daily fantasy sports operators for the first time, and it tightens rules around charitable gaming licensing and fees. A provision drafted by my office and added by floor amendment bars online gaming for anyone who owes back child support before they ever collect a payout. (I’d like to broaden that ban to include any person on any welfare program this coming session.)
HB 904 was sponsored by Reps. Michael Meredith and Matthew Koch. It passed the House 79-15 and the Senate 24-13, and after the Governor’s veto, the override passed the House 67-7 and the Senate 26-5.