Kentucky Sports Betting Exceeds Revenue Expectations, States Governor

Governor Beshear is pleased with Kentucky's successful sports betting debut, noting that earnings are expected to exceed the $23 million estimate and exceeding expectations. Beshear, who is defending the industry from conservative critics, highlights the benefits for the state's economy and regulations as well as the positive shift away from illegal and offshore betting.

Kentucky Sports Betting Exceeds Forecasts, with Governor Expecting Revenue Increase

Sports betting is the state's first significant gambling expansion in decades, barring the Kentucky General Assembly's passage of legislation in 2021 to definitively establish the legality of historical horse racing (HHR) machines. Governor Andy Beshear (D) quickly signed the sports betting bill into law after it was sent to him by the Republican-dominated state legislature in March. 

After the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) decided on the governing rules, examined the applications, awarded licenses, and issued them, in-person sports betting officially opened on September 7. Online sportsbooks were given permission to accept bets on September 28.

Beshear claims that there has never been more interest in sports betting nationally than there is now, since the advent of online wagering. The Democrat believes that Kentucky will experience a "significantly exceeded" premarket annual tax benefit of $23 million.

Governor Beshear is optimistic that Kentucky's sports betting industry will bring in more money than the $23 million projected. He calls attention to the tax revenue's various uses, which include funding sports betting oversight, setting up a fund for problem gambling, and providing the biggest boost to Kentucky's pension systems.Kentucky sportsbook licenses cost $500,000 and are subject to a 9.75% tax on bets placed in person and a higher 14.25% tax on online bets.

Kentucky Gambles Rise: $656M Since September, With Online Predominance

Kentucky residents who are eighteen years of age or older can wager in person at thirteen brick-and-mortar sportsbooks and online at seven sportsbooks. The online sites are bet365, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, Fanatics, FanDuel, and ESPN Bet. Kentucky will see the launch of Circa Sportsbook in the coming weeks.

The majority of sports bets in the state, according to the KHRC, are made online. A recurrent theme here is that the vast majority of the handle, or the total amount wagered, in states that permit both retail and online sports betting has been made possible by remote bettors within the state's borders using the internet. 

According to sportsbooks in Kentucky, since sports betting began there in early September, they have paid out more than $656 million in wages. Less than $27 million of that total was wagered at an actual sportsbook.

Republicans in Kentucky Oppose Gambling Expansion Due to Social Concerns

Since 2017, Republicans have dominated both chambers of the Kentucky legislature, and the Senate has been red since 2000. 

Reluctant to take proposals for casino expansion on board because of concerns that more gambling would negatively impact families already struggling with addiction, financial difficulties, and criminality, these lawmakers are conservative. A number of the same individuals who condemn gambling also believe that sports betting is detrimental to society.

In response to critics, Governor Beshear notes that substantial wagering took place in nearby states or through offshore channels prior to the legalization of sports betting. The governor draws attention to the altered legal environment and the state of the economy. David Walls, the executive director of the Family Foundation of Kentucky, refers to sports betting as "predatory," citing concerns about how it impacts the most vulnerable and negatively impacts the state of the economy.