The man in charge of writing the Kentucky sports betting rules got some help from a regulator in a state that just launched a legal sports betting market of his own.
In an interview with Gaming Today, Jordan Maynard, a commissioner on the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, said he recently spoke with Jonathan Rabinowitz, chair of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, which has been tasked with regulating sports betting in Kentucky.
Massachusetts retail sports betting launched Jan. 31, and online apps went live March 10.
“The first thing I said to him was, ‘We met 80 times between Aug. 1 — which was the day (our bill) passed — and the day we launched Category 1, or casino, sportsbooks,'” Maynard, a native of Pikeville, Kentucky, told Gaming Today. ” … I do think it’s going to take a lot of work.”
Learn from how other states have launched sports betting
Maynard had a few main pieces of advice for Rabinowitz, who has expressed a desire to launch Kentucky sportsbooks before the Dec. 28, 2023, deadline stipulated in the bill Gov. Andy Beshear signed in March.
First: Absorb as much information from other states and jurisdictions as possible.
Kentucky is fortunate in this sense to be surrounded by six states with legal sports betting: Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and West Virginia.
“(Rabinowitz) asked me a general question, which was, ‘What would you say to yourself going back in time?'” Maynard told Gaming Today. “And my advice was, ‘Listen to the experts. Cast a wide net. You’re going to hear from a lot of different stakeholders and try to be as open-minded as you can.’
“Any minute that goes by when you’re in a state surrounded by legal jurisdictions as well as having illegal bookies being in the state, any day that goes by once legislation passes that and the governor signs it is a missed opportunity. It’s a missed opportunity to bring tax revenue into the commonwealth. It’s a missed opportunity to help someone who may have addiction behaviors get into assistance.”
Don’t start regulations from scratch
Second: Maynard urged Rabinowitz to use existing gambling regulations as a guideline.
For instance, there are regulations for the vibrant Kentucky horse betting scene and the state’s nine horse racetracks.
“Our application was drawn from the original application for brick-and-mortar casinos. They’re going to find the same thing,” Maynard said. “They’re going to find places where they can develop processes and systems, and they can retool those and use them for the sports betting side.”
Overall, Maynard said he told Rabinowitz to try to ignore outside noise as much as possible and just focus on getting the job done. That will be especially important in Kentucky, where lawmakers want sportsbooks live by NFL kickoff.
“Tune out the talking heads,” Maynard said. “And to me, the biggest pitfall to avoid is not gathering enough information. Be open-minded. This is new. Rely on other jurisdictions. And always keep in mind what is important for your state.”