According to the American Gaming Association , Americans wagered a record $119.84 billion on sports betting in 2023, up 27.5% from 2022. Those bets translated into $10.92 billion in revenue.
Where does Kentucky rank among the 38 states that have legalized sports gambling?
That’s difficult to determine considering the population of each state, the regulations involved in each entity and the fact that Kentucky’s legalized sports betting launched Sept. 7, 2023, in retail locations. Online sports wagering in the state began Sept. 28, 2023.
We do know that through July, the state’s handle (bets made) was at $2,235,612,930 with winnings at $1,895,071,518. Adjusted gross revenue was $252,746,019 with Kentucky Excise Tax at $36,016,038.
Here is the month-by-month breakdown:
Some notes behind the numbers:
▪ The American Gaming Association numbers for July had Kentucky generating $15.3 million in sports gambling revenue. Tennessee was at $33.5 million. Ohio was at $252.6 million. Indiana was at $235.4 million.
▪ The July numbers were down 14% from the June handle. Mobile handle was also down 14%. According to betkentucky.com , that’s similar to what other states experienced.
“Despite the drop-off in betting, sportsbooks only saw their revenues take a slight hit. The operators reported $15,116,375 in adjusted gross revenues, 1.9% less than the $15,407,161 they collected in June. Mobile apps claimed $14,689,497 of the AGR, down 1.4% from the June tally of $14,900,164.”
▪ Kentucky’s top handle month was October of 2023 at $294,950,216. That was the first full month that both retail and online sports betting was legal in the state. The number dipped slightly to $281.5 million in November and $263.9 million in December.
▪ Tennessee’s handle for November 2023 was $517 million.
▪ College basketball is a big draw for sports gambling in Kentucky. For the month of March, led by the NCAA Tournament’s March Madness, Kentucky’s sports gambling handle was $256,246,090. That was up from $199,499,413 in February.
Tennessee’s handle for March was $473.6 million, up from $380.4 in February. Ohio’s handle was $738.6 million, up from $639.8 million in February. Indiana’s handle for March was $500.8 million, up from $408.7 in February.
▪ DraftKings is the No. 1 sportsbook in Kentucky with a mobile handle of $838,281,874. FanDuel is next at $771,801,594 with bet365 third at 140,999,243.
▪ Caesars , which partners with the Red Mile/Keeneland, has had a handle of $110,684,969 through 11 months.
▪ According to the Legal Sports Report , New Jersey leads the nation in total dollars wagered on sports, followed by Nevada and New York. New Jersey was the first state to legalize sports gambling after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal law prohibiting sports gambling outside of Nevada.
▪ According to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, the state collected $862 million in taxes from mobile sports betting in 2023. The state’s tax haul for the two-year period is $1.75 billion.
▪ According to Gov. Andy Beshear’s report in July, over $34.8 million of Kentucky’s tax revenue from sports gambling goes directly to the Kentucky permanent pension fund. The permanent pension fund addressed the commonwealth’s unfunded pension liabilities. Over $930,000 goes to the problem gambling fund.
▪ Tennessee’s first 12 months of taxing the handle on legal sports gambling reaped $87 million in tax revenue, according to the state . Tennessee’s sports wagering handle for its first 12 months was $4.7 billion.
▪ According to Legal Sports Report , Kentucky’s running handle of $2,105,748,717 through July ranked ahead of Arkansas at $1,014,83,732.
How has the first year of legal sports gambling in Kentucky gone? It’s a winning bet.
How has sports gambling in Kentucky affected horse racing? So far, so good.
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