Kentucky Made $7.9 Million in Two Months with Sports Betting

• Kentucky earned nearly $8 million in tax revenue from their first two months with legal sports betting, putting them well ahead of their yearly expectation.
• Kentucky residents wagered $340.8 million in September and October.
• Retail sports betting launched Sep. 7, with online sports betting launching on Sep. 28 in Kentucky.

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Kentucky’s legal sports betting numbers from September and October show a total handle of $340.8 million. The state earned $7.94 million in sports betting taxes.

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) finally released their legal sports betting revenue reports on Monday. The results show that Kentucky’s sports betting tax revenue is on pace to crush the expected $23 million projection for their first year.

Kentucky Sports Betting Director Hans Stokke detailed sports betting numbers in Monday’s KHRC meeting. In addition to big numbers from September and October, Stokke reported that Kentucky received more than $260 million in bets during Thanksgiving weekend.

The majority of Kentucky sports betting in September and October took place online, with retail sports betting only claiming $17.2 million of the $340.8 million total handle. Online sports betting is responsible for 95% of total wagers despite offering sports betting exclusively at retail locations for three weeks.

FanDuel, DraftKings Dominate Online Kentucky Sports Betting

As expected, the two biggest betting sites for US players controlled a large majority of the Kentucky sports betting market. DraftKings and FanDuel combined for $256.08 million of the $323.6 million in online sports betting handle.

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission reports break down handle and revenue by operator, showing FanDuel as the top mobile operator with a $131.15 million handle through October. DraftKings’ Kentucky sports betting handle isn’t far behind at $124.93 million for the first two months.

Kentucky launched online sports betting on Sep. 28, resulting in a $45.9 million handle from three days in September. October’s online sports betting handle reached $295 million and earned the state roughly $7.6 million.

News tags: DraftKings | FanDuel | Hans Stokke | Kentucky | Kentucky Horse Racing Commission