All About Kentucky Sports Betting Handle And Revenue

By Editorial Staff

@BetKYdotcom

April 3, 2025 03:10pm

BetKentucky.com is your go-to destination for all things related to Kentucky sports betting, and as such, we’ve developed this guide to explain terms such as handle, revenue and tax collections.

Sports betting began in the Bluegrass State in September 2023. State officials chose a gradual launch, allowing brick-and-mortar sportsbooks to start first on Sept. 7, 2023. Online operators received the green light three weeks later.

Several Kentucky licensed racetracks have licenses to serve as sports wagering operators. That allows them to host sportsbooks at their racing venues and their historical horse racing satellite facilities. Those tracks may also partner with up to three online sports betting operators.

Currently, there are eight licensed online sports betting operators in the state; they often offer Kentucky betting promos. Bet365 and BetMGM have partnered with Sandy’s Racing and Gaming. Caesars Sportsbook is connected to The Red Mile. Circa Sports and DraftKings have partnerships with Cumberland Run. Fanatics is partnered with Oak Grove Racing and Gaming. FanDuel is licensed through Turfway Park, and ESPN BET (Penn Interactive) is connected with Ellis Park.

Brick-and-mortar sportsbooks have opened at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ellis Park in Henderson, Oak Grove and Turfway Park in Florence – all of which operate on the Kambi platform. Caesars has a retail book at The Red Mile in Lexington. DraftKings has sportsbooks at Cumberland Run in Corbin and The Mint Williamsburg, while BetMGM opened one at Sandy’s Racing and Gaming in Ashland.

Handle figures released by the state following the path of most other markets that have both online and retail options – that is, the licensed online Kentucky sports betting apps are the preferred choice by most sports bettors in the state.

Kentucky Sports Betting, February vs. January

Kentucky sportsbooks saw a dip in handle during February compared to January, a typical pattern for this time of year.

The total sports betting handle, or amount wagered, in February was $224,733,399, down 18.9% from $277,120,574 in January in a month-over-month comparison. Mobile wagering dropped by a similar amount, 19.2%, from $270,994,797 in the first month of 2025 to $218,983,652 in February.

February has the biggest single-day sporting event (and sports betting game) in the country, the Super Bowl. However, that’s the only NFL game of the month and there aren’t enough other big events to make up for a dropoff from the glut of sports action in January. Also, of course, February is three days shorter.

The revenue (AGR) that Kentucky derives from sports betting also declined in February, falling 11% from $32,975,042 the previous month to $29,335,475, according to figures that the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation posted on April 3.

The total excise tax from sports betting was $4,152,286 in the second month of the year, down 11.3% from January ($4,683,071).

The good news for operators was that February’s numbers were up from 12 months earlier in a year-over-year comparison. Handle rose about $25 million compared to February 2024 and revenue was a bit more than $10 million higher.

DraftKings Kentucky Sportsbook overhauled rival FanDuel in handle for the month to take back the statewide lead, with $80,703,438 in wagers accepted. Boston-based DraftKings led every month of 2024, but FanDuel was first in January 2025. FanDuel was second in February handle at $73,955,516, followed by bet365 ($23,982,233), BetMGM ($11,296,913) and Caesars ($10,796,220).

Churchill Downs led the state in retail sports betting handle at $2,239,694. The rest of the top five: Red Mile $1,152,925, Turfway Park $817,284, Kentucky Downs $600,619 and Oak Grove $336,188.

Kentucky Mobile Sports Betting History