Kentucky Online Poker
The state of Kentucky is attempting a combo bill in 2020 that would legalize and regulate both online poker and online/mobile sports gambling. It’s an uphill battle, but optimism is high for the state to expand its gambling industry after nearby states have already greatly beefed up theirs.
Under the pre-filed legislation, the Kentucky Lottery Corporation would regulate online poker. Persons seeking to offer real-money online poker to individuals within state borders to those 18 years of age and older would need a license from the Lottery Corporation.
You must play at Kentucky online poker rooms that offer exceptional new player bonuses. Most of the time, these online gambling bonuses come in the form of a match credit on your first deposit. Let’s say some real money Kentucky online poker.
Kentucky’s stirred excitement when in February, 2019 a bill designed to legalize online poker in the state cleared the first legal hurdle in the House of Representatives.H 175 is once again giving hope that Kentucky can welcome back online card rooms.Here’s your main take away from the state: The most recent efforts to legalize the industry in Kentucky. Kentucky Poker Laws Kentucky is perhaps most famous in the online poker world for their very bold attempt to seize the domains of 141 online poker sites back in 2008, claiming that they were in. Ignition Poker is the poker site with the highest traffic that's available in Kentucky. Not only are there plentiful NL Hold'em tables but also action in PLO, PLO/8, and Limit Hold'em. You can play as low as. There is no specific statute in Kentucky that governs online gambling’s legality. However, given the restrictive nature of the state’s laws with regard to gambling in general (basically everything is unlawful.
It would cost $250k for an online poker license, with a $10k annual renewal fee. In addition to the licensing fee, a gaming fee of 6.75% of net poker revenue would be imposed on each online poker vendor, according to the bill. That’s arguably an industry-friendly tax rate for iPoker revenue.
Friction for PokerStars?
The worldwide leader in online poker is a platform called PokerStars. It recently launched in Pennsylvania, following a launch in New Jersey several years ago. In late 2018, PokerStars scored a victory in the Kentucky Court of Appeals over a whopping $870.7 mm judgment against the poker site. Kentucky went after the company in court for its activity in offering online poker to Kentuckians before Black Friday in April 2011. Kentucky said online poker was against state law. The case took years to play out.
According to a report from the Louisville Courier Journal after PokerStars’ victory on appeal, the state Justice and Public Safety Cabinet indicated it would ask the Kentucky Supreme Court to weigh in. The state’s high court hasn’t done so and it’s unclear if it ever will. With that said, the Kentucky regulated online poker bill appears to make reference to this situation. Under the bill, it appears that PokerStars could be licensed to offer online poker in Kentucky, despite the rocky history with the state.
“Award of an online poker license under this section shall not absolve any person of any liability which has or may be incurred due to litigation with the Commonwealth over internet poker domain names,” states the bill. “Any person who has been issued a license under this section shall have the license suspended by the corporation if a final judgment is issued against the person for the improper use of internet domain names. The license suspension shall continue until all fines and fees assessed under the judgment are fully paid.”
The legislation also states that online poker vendors would be ineligible if they have “been convicted of a violation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006.” It’s worth noting that PokerStars was not found to have violated UIGEA. It settled with the federal government earlier this decade without admitting to wrongdoing, paving the way for future licensure by states.
PokerStars’ parent, The Stars Group, recently agreed to merge with FanDuel parent Flutter Entertainment. The conglomerate could also be involved with Kentucky online sports gambling. Poker and sports betting are considered to have a similar customer base.
What’s poker under the bill?
Regulated Kentucky poker sites would be akin to their counterparts in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Poker platforms could potentially offer “any form of poker” — which would include all the staples such as hold’em and Omaha.
The bill would not allow live, brick-and-mortar poker rooms in the state.
The legislation would also seek to keep poker in Kentucky as strictly skill based.
“Online poker shall not include video lottery terminals or slot machines using electronic representations of cards in a game of chance in which skill does not play a part,” states the proposal.
The Lottery could theoretically, under the bill, place limits on the stakes in poker games. That’s unlikely to be relevant to Kentuckians, as there really isn’t a large market for high-stakes games. Nearly one in five Kentuckians live in poverty. Kentucky poker sites would be lucky to have vibrant low-stakes games, given the intra-state nature of the player pool. Kentucky has about 4.5 mm people.
How many Kentuckians could be online poker players? Well, the lawsuit against PokerStars provides a figure on a possible ceiling. Kentucky was seeking to recover poker losses from more than 34k of its residents. That player pool existed between 2006 and 2011.
Those 34k Kentuckians who played on PokerStars lost an average of $8,500 during that roughly five-year time frame, according to the state.
Of course, 34k Kentucky online poker players doesn’t mean anywhere close to that number of players were active simultaneously. On PokerStars in Pennsylvania, the site is currently peaking at a little more than 1k active players, according to PokerScout. The Keystone State has 12.8 mm people.
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By Last Updated January 31, 2021
Gambling is practically a state tradition in Kentucky, and poker has also played a big role in the history of the Bourbon State. Poker used to be the stuff of riverboats and underground clubs, but today’s Kentucky poker scene is more about live casinos and online poker. Now that the Internet is practically everywhere in the state, poker can be – and is – everywhere too.
Thanks to the aggressive position taken by some in the government on the issue of gambling online in Kentucky, not all online poker rooms take players from the state of Kentucky. That isn’t the same as saying no poker rooms will accept Kentucky sign ups. There are still a multitude of online poker sites where Kentuckians can play for real money.
This leads to plenty of questions about how online poker works, whether you can play poker online from Kentucky and the general climate for gambling in the state – questions answered in our Online Poker Player’s Guide to Kentucky.
| Type/Code | Summary |
|---|---|
| State Code Section(s) | XIX.230; XIX.238; L.528 |
| Definition of Gambling & Player | Gambling: Staking or risking something of value upon the outcome of a contest, game, gaming scheme, or gaming device which is based upon an element of chance, in accord with an agreement or understanding that someone will receive something of value in the event of a certain outcome. A contest or game in which eligibility to participate is determined by chance and the ultimate winner is determined by skill shall not be considered to be gambling.Player: A person who engages in any form of gambling solely as a contestant or bettor, without receiving or becoming entitled to receive any profit therefrom other than personal gambling winnings, and without otherwise rendering any material assistance to the establishment, conduct, or operation of the particular gambling activity. |
| Online Poker/Gambling | Legalized online poker or casino games is unlikely to be available in Kentucky due to past actions by Governor Steve Beshear. In 2008, he obtained court permission to seize more than 140 gambling-related domains, including PokerStars and Bodog, due to their alleged infringement upon the state’s gambling revenue from horse racing/betting. Most cases have since been settled, but the racing industry is dominant in Kentucky and unlikely to agree to allow legislators to vote on any type of legalized online gaming. |
| Live Poker | There are no live poker rooms in Kentucky. |
| Casinos | Kentucky offers no casinos of any kind for gambling in the state. |
| Sports Betting | Lawmakers are considering bills in both houses to legalize sports betting since the US Supreme Court overturned PASPA in May 2018. |
| DFS | A Kentucky House bill was introduced in 2018 to legalize daily fantasy sports, but it did not pass. |
| Other Forms of Gambling | Horse racing, pari-mutuel betting, lottery, charitable gaming. |
Latest Online Poker Updates for Kentucky
Most analysts have considered Kentucky as one of the states least likely to consider online poker regulation in the past, but that all changed with developments in late 2018.
As Kentucky began to explore the possibility of legalizing sports betting in the state, the Poker Alliance took the opportunity to attend a hearingabout it and relay the message that online gambling would be a solid pairing with sports betting to add revenue to the state’s coffers.
In late November, Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear took that message to heart and proposed that lawmakers consider a new solutionto a longstanding problem with the funding of the state’s pension systems. He asked lawmakers to consider a new revenue stream that doesn’t raise taxes for Kentuckians. “The answer is simple,” he stated in his letter to lawmakers, “expanded gaming including casino, fantasy sports, and sports gaming, as well as preparing for the eventual legalization of online poker.” All eyes will be on the legislature in early 2019 to see if any online gambling proposals are put forward for consideration.
Weeks later, the Kentucky Court of Appeals handed down a ruling in a case between the Commonwealth of Kentucky and PokerStars that had been ongoing since 2008. Kentucky’s then-Governor Steve Beshear (Andy Beshear’s father) obtained legal permission to seize 141 online gambling domains at that time, including PokerStars, and the case continued as Kentucky demanded money from PokerStars for taking rake from losing players located in Kentucky from 2008 to 2011 when PokerStars left the US market. PokerStars appealed the case up to the Court of Appeals, and in December 2018, that court ruled in favor of PokerStars and reversed the original $870 million judgement of the Franklin Circuit Court. The state may appeal the case to the Kentucky Supreme Court in 2019, but as it stands, PokerStars can claim victory in the case.
In late November, Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear took that message to heart and proposed that lawmakers consider a new solution to a longstanding problem with the funding of the state’s pension systems. He asked lawmakers to consider a new revenue stream that doesn’t raise taxes for Kentuckians. “The answer is simple,” he stated in his letter to lawmakers, “expanded gaming including casino, fantasy sports, and sports gaming, as well as preparing for the eventual legalization of online poker.” All eyes will be on the legislature in early 2019 to see if any online gambling proposals are put forward for consideration.
As requested by AG Beshear in late 2018, lawmakers introduced a couple of bills to expand gambling in Kentucky. In early February, HB.190 was put forth to establish casinos in the state and expand gambling at horse tracks, and HB.175 proposed sports wagering, fantasy sports contests (DFS), and online poker. The latter was supported by 15 sponsors from both political parties.
Lead sponsor Kentucky Rep. Adam Koenig passed HB.175 through the House Licensing, Occupations, and Admin Regs Committee just weeks after its introduction, but it stalled there. The short legislative session ended after the last week of March, and with no further movement, the bill died. Similar legislation was pushed again in 2019, but the bill failed.
Kentucky Sports Betting Bill?
Sports betting failed to make it through the Kentucky legislature, as well. However, it appears that support for legal sports betting is growing. Followers of Kentucky state politics expect to see a new KY sports betting bill at the start of 2020. If lawmakers respect the wishes of AG Beshear, sponsors of the legislation could add online poker to the bill.
Quite a bit changed in late 2019 and early 2020, however. Beshear won his campaign against the incumbent governor, and he won it on a platform that included expanded gambling for Kentucky. Newly-elected Governor Andy Beshear took office in December. At the same time, Rep. Koenig pre-filed a bill in 2020 to legalize online poker, daily fantasy sports (DFS), and sports wagering at racetracks, sports venues, and via online and mobile devices.
That filing from Koenig turned into HB.137, a bill that passed the House Licensing, Occupations and Administrative Committee on January 15. It then went to the Rules Committee for consideration with four amendments thus far. As it stands, the bipartisan legislation has 38 sponsors, including Koenig.
In addition, Beshear submitted his state budget proposal in late January with the contents of HB.137 included in it, stating that the new gambling options would raise more than $37 million in taxes and fees in the next two years. The bill failed last year, but Beshear is hoping to reintroduce it and try again in 2021.
Online Poker in Kentucky
Our top online poker rooms for KY are a result of a good deal of research that focuses on a few core things: Whether the room is licensed, how generous the room is with promotions and bonuses, how easy the games are and how good the software is. After surveying dozens of rooms, we used those criteria to narrow the list down to these top online poker sites for players from Kentucky:
Is Online Poker Legal in Kentucky?
What does the law say about playing online poker in Kentucky? The first step to answering that question: review the Kentucky statutes here. The next step is to consult a lawyer if you still have questions. For those who just want to gain a basic understanding of Kentucky gambling law, here are some parts of the code that all poker players should be familiar with.
What does Kentucky law consider to be gambling? Gambling is defined in Section 528.010 as
“staking or risking something of value upon the outcome of a contest, game, gaming scheme, or gaming device which is based upon an element of chance, in accord with an agreement or understanding that someone will receive something of value in the event of a certain outcome.”
There’s a phrase in Kentucky gambling law that could easily confuse at first glance – “profiting from gambling activity” (Section 528.010) You might think this could also apply to simply winning at a poker game, but it’s actually referring specifically to profiting from the operation of an illegal gambling activity (not just participation).
Kentucky is one of the few states that does not have an obvious criminal penalty for those who engage in illegal gambling exclusively as players.
With that said, Kentucky does have a number of steep penalties for those who “advance gambling activity,” a broad category of actions that encompasses all “conduct that materially aids any form of gambling activity” (Section 528.010).
While our cursory reading regarding poker law in Kentucky suggests that players do not face any criminal liability for playing real-money poker online, this guide should not be taken as a substitute for legal advice.
Kentucky Gambling Facts
Is Online Poker Legal In Kentucky
By some accounts, Kentucky was home to Las Vegas before Vegas even existed. While a town of a different name – Newport – was the central attraction for gamblers, historians seem to agree that Kentucky was essentially the turn of the century equivalent to Las Vegas, complete with underworld crime figures, illicit profits and plenty of suspect activity. Colorful gangsters and their gambling hangouts are now the stuff of legend and nostalgia in Kentucky, but betting and wagering continues to play a vital role in the culture and economy of the state.
Regulated Gambling Options in Kentucky
Within the state borders of Kentucky, you’re limited to the lottery, charitable gambling and – of course – pari-mutuel betting on horse races. After all, what fun would the Kentucky Derby be if everyone just watched the horses run? There are no commercial casinos in the state, but several site right on various borders in neighboring states such as Indiana and Ohio. While there has been some talk of bringing full-fledged commercial casinos (along with poker rooms) to Kentucky, repeated attempts to do so by the state legislature have failed, suggesting that the current lineup of regulated gambling options may well persist for years to come.
Can you Gamble Online in Kentucky?
Residents of Kentucky are able to legally place online bets on horse races through approved operators. Otherwise, Kentucky has yet to take any legislative action that would allow it to issue online poker licenses or regulate online poker (or any other type of online gambling) within the state.
All Poker and Gambling Laws by State
The coronavirus pandemic stopped progress on a great many things. Every state in America now faces massive hurdles – many financial in nature – to overcome in the remaining months of 2020…and probably beyond. To say that online poker fell completely off the radar of lawmakers in Kentucky in the
Read FullIt was an unexpected surprise to see Kentucky on the list of states considering online poker in 2019. Few could imagine that a state in the middle of America would be the fifth or sixth state to legalize online poker, but imagine no more. The bill is no longer alive
Read FullThe Commonwealth of Kentucky took action this week on its sports betting legislation, which also bodes well for online poker and fantasy sports, both of which are included in the bill. As the bill has been alive for little more than two weeks, it has already garnered substantial bipartisan support
Read Full
Kentucky Gambling Resources
Northern Kentucky Gambling Museum. Take a virtual trip on YouTube through this interesting and eclectic institution that houses artifacts from the state’s past as a gambling hub.
Kentucky Council on Problem Gambling. Scholarly material concerning the gambling industry in Kentucky, along with a full suite of literature and tools aimed at reducing problem gambling in the state.
Kentucky.com. Best source for local news and developments related to gambling and similar topics. Follow legislation and other issues shaping the future of the gambling industry in Kentucky.