Days after signing emergency sports betting regulations into law, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signed an executive order creating the Kentucky Sports Wagering Advisory Council.
The six-member council will consist of the Public Protection Cabinet Secretary, three members of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, a current employee at KHRC, and two at-large appointees named by Beshear.
One of the commission members will serve as the chairperson of the organization. Part of the group’s tasks will include liasing with both the Public Protection Cabinet and the governor’s office.
In the EO creating the committee, the group is charged with:
Drafting regulations
Proposing an initial budget
Look into multi-jurisdictional wagering and working with other jurisdictions
Perform tasks related to sports betting delegated to them by the KHRC
What is somewhat odd about this task list is that the regulations have already been not only drafted but posted and adopted as emergency regulations. Moreover, given the rapid rollout of sports betting, there is a very small window for the KHRC to stand up the industry when the bulk of the work will be done.
The EO did not specify when members of this group would be named and when their tenure would begin. The order went into effect on July 13.
Beshear and the KHRC announced earlier this week that retail sports betting is scheduled to debut on Sept. 7 in Kentucky with online betting rolling out on Sept. 28. It is unclear whether or not the committee will be involved prior to launch.
Tennessee created a similar committee with an identical name when it tasked the Tennessee Lottery to oversee and regulate sports betting. Eventually, the SWAC took over as the regulatory body for sports betting, dropping the “advisory” from its name in the process.
