The Kentucky Governor’s casino plan is already meeting opposition. Steve Beshear is proposing that Kentucky, the great horseracing state, should licence up to seven racinos and five stand-alone casinos. Both the race track casinos and those along the Kentucky borders would be able to offer table games and slot machines. The Governor’s reasoning behind the proposal is that Kentuckians gamble at neighbouring Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and West Virginia casinos, and that 12 casinos in Kentucky could generate as much as US$600 million annually for the state.

Calling the present state of the Kentucky budget a ‘financial quagmire,’ Steve Beshear said other states make hundreds of millions of dollars from casinos. "I am proposing that we get off the fence one way or the other because other states are leaving us behind." His comments brought an immediate reaction from many legislators, most of it negative. Any amendment to the Kentucky constitution to allow casino gambling must obtain a three-fifths majority in both House and Senate.

The Democrat Governor, in his first year of office, campaigned for casinos during the election process. The question of gambling expansion, frequently raised over the years, has so far failed to gain legislative approval. Steve Beshear said, "For too long the people's wishes conveyed through surveys and trips to casinos on our borders have been pushed aside. For too long this revenue option has been ignored while we've hemmed and hawed. It is time for resolution."

Racetrack owners are happy about the casino initiative, even though the proposed gaming tax would be one of the highest in the US at 50.65%. For the first five years the tax would be 10% lower to offset licensing fees and expenses. The Governor proposes that 15.65% of tax from the racinos would be returned to the Kentucky horse industry. The House is controlled by the Democrats, but the casino plans are likely to incur stiff opposition in the Republican-led Senate. The Senate President has already declared that the bill will never pass. One thing is certain; the Governor’s bid to get casinos in Kentucky has a long way to go before gaming tax dollars are written into the annual budget, if they ever are. (E-02.15.08)

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