All About Kentucky Sports Betting Handle And Revenue

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, December vs. November

Kentucky sports betting wrapped up 2024 in strong fashion with a December handle of $293,022,540, the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation has reported.

While that was down 2.9% from November’s record $301,740,758, it was up 11.1% from the $263,666,577 wagered during December 2023 and was the state’s second-highest total since sportsbooks launched in September 2023. December’s mobile waging handle of $285,476,298 was down 1.8% from November’s $290,702,678. However, it was up 12% on a year-over-year basis from the $254,904,794 wagered through licensed apps 12 months earlier.

Revenues fell sharply as bettors enjoyed a strong December. The total adjusted gross wagering revenue for the month was $19,533,128. That was down 45.6% from November’s total of $35,879,288. It was also a 38.3% decline from the $31,647,937 operators reported for December 2023.

Mobile operators accounted for $19,603,146 in revenues, a drop of 44.4% from the $35,240,546 they won in November and off by 36.5% from the $30,873,640 they reported for December 2023.

As revenues fell, so did Kentucky’s tax collections. The $2,916,545 generated in December was down 42.2% from November and by 34.7% from the $4,463,311 reported in December 2023. Mobile operators paid $2,911,258 in taxes for the month, a decrease of 41.7% compared to November’s $4,991,515 and 33.8% lower than the $4,399,494 tax bill from one year prior.

DraftKings Kentucky Sportsbook was the top online app by handle in December, reporting $111,659,208. That was followed by FanDuel’s $95,430,504; bet365’s $23,869,079; BetMGM’s $14,600,019 and Caesars’ $13,418,994.

On a retail basis, Churchill Downs reported a handle of $3,050,822 for the final month of 2024. Red Mile was second with a handle of $1,325,561, and Turfway Park’s $1,127,657 was third. Rounding out the top five were Kentucky Downs’ $786,766 and Oak Grove’s $581,652.

With December’s numbers in the books, Kentucky’s sports betting handle for 2024 – the first full year of sports betting – was $2,626,953,943. Operators reported revenues of $271,742,583 and the state received $38,621,515 in tax proceeds for the calendar year.

Kentucky Mobile Sports Betting History