Kentucky House of Representatives leaders passed the state’s gray games ban bill on Wednesday. They include Pace-O-Matic’s games, in which one of its workers had illustrated the games to Bobby Labonte, a National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC(NASCAR) legend in February at their Georgia headquarters.
House Bill 594 got a 64-32 vote despite the Republican Party recently witnessing in-fighting in Frankfort. It holds 80 seats among the chamber’s 100. The bill’s opposers stunned State Representative Killian Timoney, R-Nicholasville, and GOP leaders on Friday when they tabled it.
All Republican members held long meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday before the day’s House sessions. Some insiders stated that the representatives had to revive the gaming bill by Wednesday. Still, Timoney filed it as a contingency thus prompting the House to order its readings.
It acted on it before Wednesday’s recess. The bill got a 66-10 vote that took it off the table despite getting a 42-35 vote on Friday. It later got a 2-1 vote that moved it to the Senate.
More Details About the Gray Versus Skill Debate
Gray game fans label them as skill machines stating that a gambler can win anytime if they have good hand-eye coordination and sharp memory. Also, game manufacturers claim they sent letters to the 120 counties’ leaders seeking permission to provide games in local gaming venues.
Even so, the games’ opponents say that they aren’t controlled and that gaming operators sneaked them in Kentucky. They believe that such games will increase crime and underage gambling. The state will have thousands of games if it doesn’t act soon.
It is renowned for legalized betting. David Osborne, R-Prospect, House Speaker stated that illegal gambling doesn’t benefit the Commonwealth and the recent House vote shows that gambling companies have to abide by the state’s regulation and they cannot offer uncontrolled casino-style gaming.
The Kentucky Merchants and Amusement Coalition (KY MAC) represents many small business owners with skill machines. It ridiculed HB 594 claiming that Churchill Downs backs it despite managing 60 percent of the state’s 6,900 functional historical horse racing machines.
Wes Jackson, KY MAC President, stated that it is ironic for the House to support the gaming bill yet a House committee passed a sports gambling bill that issues tracks authority over the state’s gaming market.
Many local small business owners liaised with legislators on skill games’ benefits and most House members indicated that they wouldn’t vote on the bill last week. Surprisingly, a few of the lawmakers later called it for a vote and passed it.
The Senate Will Soon Consider HB 594
The Senate is the gray games ban bill’s next stop and it has received Senate Majority Floor Leader, Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown support. He is optimistic that the amendment will reach the chamber’s floor next week for a vote. The session has eight more legislative days after Wednesday, six of them being between Thursday and next Thursday.
Its last days will be March 29 and 30. The General Assembly’s two chambers backed the machines’ ban in 2022 but the House turned down the Senate’s amendment. Both chambers’ representatives reviewed the 2023 bill considering fears that it wouldn’t prohibit eSports, arcade, and fair games.
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