Kentucky wants to end certain prop bets, raise gambling age to 21

• Kentucky is looking into several changes to its existing sports gambling framework
• Two representatives are co-sponsoring a bill meant to increase the gambling age and ban prop bets on athletes playing for Kansas schools
• The new bill is meant to build on the success of previous legislation and drive long-term sustainability and consumer protection

Lawmakers in Kentucky will soon debate two important changes to the state’s existing gambling framework, which involves the type of wagers that can be placed and what the legal gambling age would be moving forward.

New legislation outlines specific changes to existing wagering laws

House Bill 904 was filed in March by Republican Reps. Michael Meredith and Matt Koch, and it seeks to introduce changes to the way the framework is set.

For starters, proposition wagers on college athletes playing for local schools would be banned entirely, which is not a blanket ban on this type of wager, as has been demanded by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), citing integrity concerns.

Another issue that comes up in the new language is whether 18 is too young to allow people to gamble on sports and horse racing. Reps. Meredith and Koch seem to agree and argue that the legal gambling age should be raised to 21 instead for these two specific activities.

The bill is meant to strengthen consumer protection and achieve long-term sustainability

Sharing the filing of the bill in a press statement, Rep. Meredith had this to say about the motivation behind the draft legislation:

"We created a nationally recognized structure for sports wagering in the commonwealth a few years ago. House Bill 904 would bring us in line with much of the country in governing fantasy contests. Our goal is to make sure consumers are protected and have access to the products they are demanding in the marketplace."

Meredith was joined by Koch, who was similarly confident that the new bill constitutes an important part of the evolution of the state’s gambling laws, meant to protect consumers and strengthen safeguards.

"It is important that we ensure safeguards are in place to protect consumers and maintain the integrity of lawful wagering and charitable gaming," he mused.

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