Bill To Tax Online Wagering

{Frankfort, Kentucky}...Under a bill filed Monday by House Speaker Pro Tem Larry Clark, bets made by Kentucky residents through account wagering services like Churchill Downs Inc.’s TwinSpires.com would be taxed a half of a percent. Clark’s proposal calls for 15 percent of proceeds from the proposed tax on wagers made by Kentucky residents to be deposited in the state’s General Fund. The other 85 percent would be given to the state’s racetracks, with half of their share going toward purses. Horsemen have complained that purses get less from bets made online than at a racetrack. Under the proposed bill, if a bet is made by a Kentucky resident on a Kentucky race, the racing industry’s share of the tax proceeds would go to the Kentucky track where the race occurred. The racing industry portion for bets made on races elsewhere would either go to a track within 25 miles of the person placing the bet or to the Kentucky track racing at the time if the person lives more than 25 miles from a track.