All About Kentucky Sports Betting Handle And Revenue

By Steve Bittenbender

@BittGDCG

September 26, 2025 05:41pm

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, August vs. July

The dog days of August brought increased interest in Kentucky sports betting, as data from the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation, reported on Sept. 26, showed that gamblers wagered $193,089,076 over the month.

That handle, or amount wagered, was up 19.6% from the July total of $161,423,832.

Online wagering accounted for more than 97% of the wagering traffic, and the $187,547,183 worth of bets accepted by Kentucky sportsbook apps in August was 18.4% higher than the $158,444,554 mobile handle for July.

Operators also saw revenues increase in a month-over-month comparison. The $22,111,665 they generated last month was a 27.9% improvement from the $17,291,097 they won in July. Mobile apps accounted for $21,367,435 of the winnings in August, up 25.9% from $16,975,592 in the previous month.

The increased revenues led to a larger windfall for the commonwealth. Kentucky received $3,106,417 in taxes for the eighth month of 2025, a 27.4% improvement from July’s $2,438,301. The amount that the state earned from mobile operators rose 26%, from $2,409,755 in July to $3,036,041.

DraftKings Kentucky Sportsbook was the top sports betting operator by handle as it accepted $71,430,188. The Boston-based sportsbook was followed by FanDuel ($60,166,485), bet365 ($20,432,396), Caesars ($9,683,842) and BetMGM ($9,670,326).

Kentucky Mobile Sports Betting History