A new bill presented to Kentucky legislators aims to make several major changes to the state’s gambling regulations, such as banning proposition bets on student-athletes at in-state institutions.
House Bill 904 would also increase the legal sports betting age, regulate fantasy contest operators, and introduce a self-exclusion list, among other changes.
Key Takeaways
- Bettors would still be allowed to wager on prop lines for student-athletes from different states.
- The NCAA President has campaigned for states to completely remove player prop bets.
- Fantasy sports contests would also become regulated by the state’s commission.
There are more states that prohibit prop bets for college athletes than there are that allow them. Kentucky was among the minority that not only offered them, but offered them in full.
HB 904 would restrict the list of available wagers to students competing for out-of-state colleges and universities. The goal of this change is to help student-athletes uphold their integrity by limiting the possibility of nefarious interference, as well as reducing the threat of harassment.
“We’ve seen it in the NBA, we’ve seen players in the NFL even get suspended for betting on these prop bets,” said Brad Taylor, host of the sports betting radio show Bottomline with Brad Taylor.
“If you’re an 18, 19, 20-year-old kid and maybe you don’t have all that income that the big professionals have, yeah, it would be easy to say, ‘Yeah, maybe I won’t score as many points tonight, and I’ll cash in; maybe my friends will cash in.’”
The bill echoes the sentiment of NCAA President Charlie Baker, who has worked with state betting regulators to eliminate prop bets. It also came the same week that Colorado introduced a bill to eliminate prop bets entirely.
Additionally, the proposal upholds the state’s ambition of protecting student-athletes from themselves and sports bettors who may try to convince them to rig their performances or send them abuse if they don’t perform like the bettor hoped they would.
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Age requirements and fantasy contests
On top of the prop betting restriction, the bill would increase legal Kentucky sports betting age from 18 to 21. The vast majority of states also maintain a 21-year age minimum.
RonSonlyn Clark, President of the Kentucky Council on Problem Gambling, said that increasing the minimum age requirement could prevent lives from being destroyed.
“Everyone does it is something that people say, especially young people that are gambling,” said Clark.
“And that’s something these kids can’t handle, and that’s where the suicide piece comes in. If you can’t handle the debt, what’s the next thing you feel like you have to do — you don’t see a way out.”
Another piece of the proposed legislation would deal with fantasy contests, which are available through popular platforms such as PrizePicks, Underdog, DraftKings, and several others.
Kentucky failed to address the regulation of fantasy contests when it legalized sports betting in 2023. That would also be redeemed by the new bill, which would subject fantasy operators to regulation by the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Commission.
“Our goal is to make sure consumers are protected and have access to the products they are demanding in the marketplace,” said Rep. Michael Meredith.
Additional details
More suggested changes in the bill would “modernize” horse race wagering by allowing fixed-odds betting and requiring technological updates. It would also clear up gray areas related to charitable gambling corporations and their ability to offer electronic game tickets and pull-tab devices.
Charities would also take more control over their gambling operations, while adding more consumer protections for customers.
