Kentucky Lottery Head opposes Poker Bill


Thursday November 8,2012 : KENTUCKY LOTTO HEAD OPPOSES REID-KYL DRAFT
 
Operators on a Federal licence would compete directly with the State
 
The president and chief executive officer of the Kentucky Lottery Corporation has penned a letter to US Senator Mitch McConnell formally opposing the Draft Reid-Kyl poker bill that would regulate interstate online poker and proscribe other forms of internet gaming.
 
In his letter Arthur L. Gleason, Jr. urges McConnell to oppose the adoption of the draft bill saying "While the KLC is actively monitoring the i-gaming efforts of other state lotteries, the KLC has no immediate plans to initiate the intrastate sale of lottery tickets via the internet, and would not take such steps absent guidance from appropriate state policy-makers.
 
"Nevertheless, we strongly wish to preserve that right and all revenue-generating opportunities that may be available should it be determined to be in the best interest of the Commonwealth in the future. The legalization being developed by Senators Reid and Kyl, however, if enacted, would definitely curtail that right, and consequently, future revenue generating opportunities."
 
Other concerns involving Federal taxes are voiced in the missive that said "the federal taxes on Internet poker that would go to states – generally 14% of poker activity – is lower than the tax rate states now generally applied to authorized gaming activities.  Even that 14% is misleading, since 30% of that amount would go to the state where the licensor of the on-line poker is located. This is not a win for states that are not licensing on-line poker."
 
Gleason joins a growing rank of like-minded State stakeholders that include the Massachusetts Lottery Chairman Steven Grossman and the National Governors Association who are also in public opposition to the Reid-Kyl proposal.