Kentucky sports betting exceeds initial projections with $37M tax revenue in first 9 months

After an early projected revenue of $23 million, Kentucky cashed out over $37 million in taxes and licensing fees from the state’s first nine months of legal sports betting, from September 7th, 2023, to June 30th, 2024.

“It far exceeded what any of us thought it would do,” said Jamie Eads, President and CEO of the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation (KHRGC), according to Fox 56 News. Eads testified during last week's Budget Review Subcommittee on Economic Development, Tourism, and Environment Protection meeting.

Nearly $2.1 billion was wagered in Kentucky in the first nine months, according to Eads’ testimony. Retail sports betting recorded $78,951,518 in handle for the nine months, while online sports betting generated a handle of $2,026,797,193 for the same period.

The total winnings generated by retail sports betting in Kentucky, according to the report released by KHRGC, was $71,681,385 and the total winnings posted by online sports betting was $1,784,149,389.

The adjusted gross revenue (AGR) recorded for retail sports betting for the nine-month period was ​​$7,076,585 and the AGR generated from online sports betting for the same time frame was $237,995,474. This makes the total AGR from retail and online sports betting revenue $245,072,059.

The top three physical locations for Kentuckians to place bets were Churchill Downs in Louisville, Red Mile in Lexington, and Turfway Park in Florence. Online betting in Kentucky was dominated by Draft Kings, Fanduel, and BetMGM.

While sports betting revenue has surpassed expectations for Kentucky, Eads said she hesitated to predict if these betting and revenue levels will continue as time goes on.

Kentucky’s sports betting figures in June

In its report, KHRCGC also released numbers for Kentucky’s sports betting market in June. For online sports betting, the total wagers placed in June amounted to $145,710,749, translating to winnings of $130,461,742, while the adjusted gross revenue was recorded at $14,900,164. 

In terms of retail, Kentucky recorded a handle of $4,602,964 while the winnings amounted to $4,085,018. Adjusted gross revenue for retail sports betting in Kentucky in June was $506,997.