Below is a statement from Kentuckians Against Illegal Gambling (KAIG) in support of Rep. Killian Timoney’s House Bill 594 to ban gray machine gambling in Kentucky. The statement should be attributed to Mark Guilfoyle, Executive Director of Kentuckians Against Illegal Gambling

“Illegal gray machine gambling poses a significant threat to our Commonwealth, our families and our communities. The only way to truly protect Kentucky’s bright future is to pass House Bill 594 and ban these illegal gambling machines once and for all.

Kentucky lawmakers have historically, and wisely, treated any expansion of gaming very carefully. But make no mistake, unless the General Assembly passes legislation this session to ban gray machines, we are poised to see the largest expansion of gambling in our state’s history.

Thousands of gray machines are already proliferating in communities across Kentucky. They are not confined to regulated gaming facilities, not run by vetted gaming professionals, and are not monitored by state regulators like legally authorized gaming venues.

It’s up to Kentucky legislators to ignore the false promises and put a stop to this illegal gambling. We should not be rewarding the bad behavior of gray machine operators who, without any authorization or oversight, have infected our communities with their illegal gambling machines.

Gray machine operators believe they can back Kentucky into a corner, forcing lawmakers to reward their illegal behavior. But that’s just not how we do business in Kentucky. It’s time to ban gray machines.”

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