All About Kentucky Sports Betting Handle And Revenue

By Jim Tomlin

@jdtomlin68

October 31, 2025 10:15am

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, September vs. August

Kentucky sports betting operators had a banner month in September with football season cranking back up again.

The total sports betting handle, or wagered accepted, for the state was $295,744,630 in September, up 53.2% from August ($193,089,076), according to financial figures that Kentucky Horse Racing & Gaming posted on Oct. 31. That was the second-highest handle in the two years since the state launched sports betting, trailing only the $301,740,758 bet in November 2024.

The mobile sports betting handle in the Bluegrass State rose 53.3% in a month-over-month comparison, from $187,547,183 in August to $287,594,263 last month.

Revenues and taxes derived from sports betting also increased in September, but not as dramatically. Sports betting revenue (AGR) was $25,707,596 for the ninth month of 2025, a 16.3% increase over $22,111,665 in August. Mobile revenue was up 18.0%, from $21,367,435 the previous month to $25,208,663 in September.

Taxes increased at a similar rate, with September’s total excise tax from sports betting hitting $3,684,795, up 18.6% from August ($3,106,417). Mobile operators accounted for almost al of that figure, with $3,629,968 in taxes, a 19.6% spike from August ($3,036,041).

The top five mobile operators as far as handle last month were DraftKings ($113,713,196), FanDuel ($94,511,891), bet365 Kentucky Sportsbook ($25,103,524), BetMGM ($14,453,094) and Caesars ($13,335,388).

Kentucky Mobile Sports Betting History