Thursday is a day that thousands of Kentuckians have waited for for years. With the launch of Kentucky sports betting apps, they no longer need to drive to Indiana, Tennessee, Ohio, West Virginia, Illinois, or Virginia to place their bets with a legal, regulated sports betting app.
Kentucky will be the 25th state to allow online sports wagering. Each state has its own set of regulations and different licensing structures, so there will be many questions from all kinds of Kentucky sports bettors, from the novice to the most experienced.
BetKentucky.com has compiled some of the more common questions and listed answers below. We’ll also answer more Kentucky sports betting specific questions tomorrow. If you have a different question, email me at [email protected], and I’ll be happy to answer it if I can. You can also find me on X at @BittGDGC.
What Operators Will Be Live In Kentucky?
Seven of the eight operators approved by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission expect to start taking bets on the first day. Those are Barstool Sportsbook, Bet365, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook Kentucky, DraftKings, Fanatics Sportsbook and FanDuel. Circa Sports plans a later launch.
If you prefer not to be online, there are brick-and-mortar sportsbooks open at select race tracks across the state, including Churchill Downs in Louisville, Cumberland Run in Corbin, Ellis Park in Henderson, Oak Grove, Turfway Park in Florence and Red Mile in Lexington. Sandy’s in Ashland will open its sportsbook when its historical horse racing gaming hall opens later this fall. Sportsbooks are also open at three HHR venues: Derby City Gaming (Louisville), Newport Racing and Gaming, and The Mint Williamsburg. More retail sportsbooks are expected as additional HHR satellites are being built.
We have the best Kentucky sportsbook promos for you to use ahead of and on launch day, here on BetKentucky.com.
How Many People Will Bet Online In Kentucky?
That figure is not known yet. Earlier this month, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced that licensed Kentucky online sports betting apps had more than 60,000 pre-registered accounts. That’s on top of the more than 180,000 active accounts set up by Kentuckians through sportsbooks in other states as of February, according to GeoComply. People also can set up accounts with more than one operator.
How Much Are Kentuckians Expected To Wager?
Based on BetKentucky’s estimations, we believe more than $2.1 billion will be wagered during the first full 12 months of online sports betting in the state. That’s based on how other states have performed in their first year.
How Much Revenue Is Kentucky Expected To Receive?
That’s a trickier number to pin down. Sportsbooks have reported higher win rates over the past year thanks mainly to increases in parlay betting. Kentucky will tax brick-and-mortar sportsbooks at 9.75% and online operators at 14.25%. Kentucky officials have said they expect $23 million in tax revenue, which was partly based on older projections.
That also could change depending on the bettors’ success. If Kentucky wins the NCAA men’s basketball title (current odds of +1400 at DraftKings sportsbook Kentucky, other sportsbooks may vary), it will likely put a big dent in operators’ profits.
