Sen. Damon Thayer, Rep. Michael Lee Meredith are American Gambling Awards Policymakers of the Year

NEW YORK — The American Gambling Awards is pleased to announce Sen. Damon Thayer and Rep. Michael Lee Meredith of Kentucky have been jointly named the 2023 “Policymaker of the Year.” The American Gambling Awards are produced by Gambling.com Group Limited (Nasdaq: GAMB) (“Gambling.com Group” or the “Group”), a leading provider of player acquisition services for the regulated global online gambling industry.

Thayer, R-Georgetown, and Meredith, R-Brownsville, were instrumental in helping the state of Kentucky launch retail and online sports betting in September 2023. They worked together to craft legislation that will make Kentucky a strong sports betting market, while also generating significant new revenue for the Bluegrass State.

Meredith took the mantle from outgoing Kentucky House champion Adam Koenig and immediately immersed himself in sports betting policy, becoming an extremely strong and well-educated champion of online and retail sports betting. Thayer, a longtime advocate of sports betting and the state’s horse industry, was able to rally a divided Senate and deliver a win through consistent leadership and determination.

Charles Gillespie, Chief Executive Officer of Gambling.com Group, said, “Both Senator Thayer and Representative Meredith have been prominent advocates for legal, regulated and safe gaming in Kentucky, and with sports betting now live, they are very deserving of jointly receiving the Policymaker of the Year award. With great leadership like Senator Thayer and Representative Meredith spearheading the effort, Kentucky will no doubt be a leader in how proper online gambling regulation should look like in the United States.”

“It’s a true honor to be recipients of this award and to share in the historic moment of legal  sports betting in the great Commonwealth of Kentucky,” Meredith and Thayer said in a joint  statement. “We recently gathered with our fellow Kentuckians and sports betting advocates and stakeholders at Red Mile Gaming in Lexington Kentucky to celebrate. We consider ourselves fortunate for the opportunity we’ve had to play a role in giving the people of Kentucky something they have long asked for.” 

For more information about the American Gambling Awards, including a full list of winners, please visit the awards website: www.gambling.com/us/awards.