By Gregory A. Hall • courier-journal.com
FRANKFORT, Ky. – A bill to tax bets that Kentuckians place on horse racing from home passed the House overwhelmingly Friday and advances to the Senate.
House Bill 368, sponsored by Speaker Pro Tem Larry Clark, D-Louisville, would place a 0.5 percent tax on advance deposit wagers made by Kentucky residents through online and phone services such as Churchill Downs Inc.’s TwinSpires.com.
It was approved 85-8.
Clark has said he believes the tax could generate as much as $400,000 a year, although the Legislative Research Commission says the impact is unknown because of a lack of data about how much money Kentuckians bet that way now.
He said he believes the GOP-led Senate might support the measure.
"I think that it’s a way for us to advance the tracks as far as adding more purse money … so I think it’s something the Senate would look at," he said. "They talked about last session, when they did not want to do slots, finding more revenue for (tracks). This is one avenue that would find more revenue for them."
The tax would be paid by the account-wagering companies, with a third of the revenue going to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, a third to whichever Kentucky track is running at the time and the remaining third to that track’s purses.
If all the state’s tracks are dark, the one with the next scheduled meet would get the money.
Although overall pari-mutuel wagering is declining, the account wagering market represents a growth sector.
Currently, the state does not collect excise taxes on bets made by Kentucky residents through account wagering companies as it would if the bets were made at a Kentucky track or simulcasting facility.
The tax would be similar to those imposed by Illinois and Virginia on account wagering.
The account wagering tax bill has advanced farther than in last year’s session, when a bill filed by Clark died in the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee. It would have imposed a 3.5 percent tax.