The effort to ban gray gaming in Kentucky is now alive. Rep. Killian Tippet’sbill (HB594) was tabled last week and the bill’s future was in doubt. The bill was resurrected from the table and passed the House on Wednesday.
Contrary to sports betting, which passed unanimously out of committee yesterday, the hearing on gray games was full with people lobbying for the machines to be kept. Rep. Steven Doan, who has a bill to regulate these devices, was the one who brought the bill to the table last week.
The bill was revived and called for a vote. There was little discussion. The Senate now has HB594, which was passed 64 to 32. Joe Sonka reported that the vote was split 53-25 between GOP lawmakers and 11-7 between Democrats.
“It’s sad that even though so many Kentucky small-business owners contacted their legislators regarding the benefits of skill gaming, and even after it became obvious that many House members weren’t in favor of voting on it last week, several lawmakers decided that HB594 would be called for a vote and passed it today,” Kentucky Merchants and Amusement Coalition head Wes Jackson said in a statement following the vote.
After the vote, Kentuckians Against Illegal Gambling issued the following statement:
“We are grateful to the Kentucky House of Representatives, for swiftly reconsidering and passing House Bill 554, which bans illegal gray machines. This was
