Kentucky Sports Betting
All About Kentucky Sports Betting Handle And Revenue

All About Kentucky Sports Betting Handle And Revenue

March 4, 2026 11:49am

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 follow 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, January vs. December

	Total handle	Mobile handle	Revenue
January	$295.364M	$289.254M	$30.652M
December	$282.921M	$276.649M	$38.098M
Change	Up 4.4%	Up 4.6%	Down 19.5%

The first month of 2026 delivered a mixed bag of results for Kentucky sports betting operators and regulators.

Overall, January’s total sports betting handle in Kentucky was $295,364,418, up 4.4% from December ($282,920,566). As always, most of the action happened with the Commonwealth’s mobile sports betting operators; they accepted a combined $289,253,523 in wagers, a 4.6% increase from December’s $276,649,341, according to the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation.

Kentucky’s total adjusted sports betting revenue (AGR) wasn’t so rosy in a month-over-month comparison. The state recorded $30,651,809 in revenue for January, a 19.5% decline from December ($38,098,144). Revenue fell 18.8% for statewide mobile operators, from $36,983,567 in the final month of 2025 to $30,016,564 in the first month of 2026.

That dip in January revenue roughly matched a decline in taxes; Kentucky collected $4,344,368 in total ($4,278,654 from mobile operators), 18.2% lower than the $5,309,435 total from the previous month.

January’s top Kentucky mobile sports betting handle by operator were DraftKings (Cumberland Run, $107,436,508), FanDuel (Turfway Park, $101,120,445), bet365 (Sandy’s, $25,492,504), BetMGM (Sandy’s, $17,729,099) and Oak Grove (Fanatics, $15,114,356).

Kentucky Mobile Sports Betting History

Kentucky Sports Betting Handle and Revenue FAQs

Sports betting with legal, regulated operators began in Kentucky on Sept. 7, 2023, with brick-and-mortar sportsbooks at racetracks and historical horse racing gaming halls. Online sports betting started on Sept. 28, 2023.

House Bill 551, which Kentucky lawmakers passed in March, established a two-tier tax system. The state taxes adjusted gross revenues from brick-and-mortar sportsbooks at 9.75%, and it taxes AGR from online apps at 14.25%.

Kentucky should be releasing its sports betting tax and revenue figures once a month. According to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, tax payments are due from operators by the 20th of the ensuing month (i.e., taxes for November are due by Dec. 20).

Kentucky’s law requires the tax revenue to first cover the administrative costs of regulating sports betting statewide. After that, nearly all the remaining funds will go toward the state’s public pension fund, except 2.5%, which will go to the newly created Kentucky problem gambling assistance fund.

The Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation oversees both retail and online sports betting in the state.

Mobile sports betting handle is the money wagered on sporting events by people using online devices, such as desktops, laptops or mobile phones.

Handle is the amount bet within a state each month on sports – only people physically located within a state can use legal, regulated sportsbooks to place bets. Revenue is the money left after operators pay out winnings to bettors.

Author

Jim Tomlin

Jim Tomlin has 30-plus years of experience writing and editing stories about sports, gambling and the intersection of those two industries. He has worked at the Tampa Bay Times, FanRag, Saturday Down South and Saturday Tradition and now lends his expertise to BetKentucky.com, among other sites.

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