Kentucky Lawmakers Head To Special Session Without Gambling Issue

Governor Steve Beshear has been at the forefront of the gambling issue in Kentucky for much of the past year. First, he attempted to seize the domain names of 141 online gambling sites. Then, Beshear tried to convince lawmakers to expand gambling at state racetracks.

This week, Beshear gave some insight into next months special session and the gambling issue will not be a part of those discussions. That is unfortunate, according to the governor, who feels that lawmakers wasted an opportunity by turning away gambling expansion.

"It's (gambling) off the table for the special session because both the House and the Senate turned their backs on it," said Beshear. "I wish they hadn't because if they had, we wouldn't be in this situation."

Legislators in Kentucky now have their backs against the wall to complete the state budget. Governor Beshear has threatened a shutdown parts of the government. Government jobs could be lost in the process, a possibility that nobody in the state wants to see come to fruition.

Beshear had been pushing for slot gambling at state racetracks. The tracks have been struggling financially, and millions of dollars could have been pumped into the economy and the tracks if the plan was adopted by lawmakers. Instead, legislators decided to stay with the status quo for now.

The online gambling domain case is headed to the state Supreme Court after an Appeals Court ruled that Beshear did not have the authority to seize the domain names. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the case later this year.

April 28, 2010
Posted By Terry Goodwin
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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