All About Kentucky Sports Betting Handle And Revenue

By Steve Bittenbender

@BittGDCG

July 30, 2025 04:59pm

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, June vs. May

The Bluegrass State ended the 2024-25 fiscal year on a down note on the sports betting front as Kentucky’s licensed operators reported declines in both handle and revenue compared to May.

Data from the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corp., posted on July 30, shows that bettors wagered $174,823,575 during June. That represented a 16.6% drop from the $209,561,145 handle for May. 

The state’s eight online apps accepted 98.1% of June’s wagers, with the $171,424,965 mobile handle down 16.4% from the $205,007,688 worth of bets they took in May.

While the handle declined for the third straight month, the sportsbooks saw revenues fall for the first time since March. The $22,600,854 in adjusted gross revenues was off by 12.1% from $25,703,060 the month before. Kentucky’s online operators claimed $22,285,825 of the June revenue, a drop-off of 11.3% from $25,124,394 that they earned in the previous month.

Taxes fell alongside revenue. Kentucky received $3,197,133 in taxes from operators for June. That was 9.3% less than the $3,524,902 the commonwealth received in May. All but about $30,000 in taxes came from online operators, who paid $3,168,659 last month. Their contribution declined by 8.8% from their May bill of $3,473,477.

DraftKings maintained its position as the state’s most preferred sportsbook, with the Boston-based app taking $67,454,746 in wagers. FanDuel came in second with a handle of $53,777,483. They were followed by bet365 ($17,696,171), Fanatics ($10,094,883) and BetMGM ($8,503,587).

As for retail handle, Churchill Downs tops the list for June with the Louisville track’s sportsbooks at its Derby City Gaming venues generating a June handle of $1,057,597. Turfway Park was next at $625,885, with Kentucky Downs – where Circa Sports just recently opened its new brick-and-mortar sportsbook – landing in third by reporting $545,910 in wagers accepted. Behind them were Lexington’s Red Mile, home to a Caesars Sportsbook facility, at $487,451 and Oak Grove at $246,759.

Kentucky Mobile Sports Betting History