Groundwork has been laid to introduce a proposal that could see casino gambling legalized in the state of Kentucky. The Governor of Kentucky, Steve Beshear said that they were in the final stages of finalizing the wording of a proposed constitutional amendment after reaching an agreement with State Senator Damon Thayer.
Senator Thayer will sponsor the proposal which will be put to the Senate, in the hope of introducing casino gambling and generating billions of dollars for the state’s benefit.
In a statement issued by the governor, he said: “We will spend the next few days laying the groundwork for its introduction. We are hopeful that our senators will give this bill the full consideration it deserves, since repeated polls show that Kentuckians are demanding an opportunity to vote on this issue.”
Beshear noted that Kentuckians usually visit neighbouring states in order to wager, and he realizes that the money could rather be spent within state lines at regulated casinos. Should the constitutional amendment be approved by the Senate, Kentuckians will vote on the matter via ballot in November.
While Beshear and Thayer are confident of the amendments’s chances of approval both in the Senate and by the state’s residents, the idea hasn’t been so popular among other groups, including the vocal anti-gambling group, the Family Foundation. “Support for the gambling legislation is collapsing faster than a ten dollar tent in a hurricane,” said the group’s spokesman, Martin Cothran. “They didn’t have the votes to begin with, and now what little support they have is deteriorating by the day.”
Since 2007, Beshear, infamous for his attempts to wipe out online gambling by seizing casino domains several years ago, has been promising to introduce legalized and regulated land casinos in the state. So far, his efforts have not been successful.
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