Sports Betting Coming to Kentucky
On August 22, Governor Andy Beshear announced that the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission approved temporary licenses for sports wagering operators and service providers, which will grant up to one year of operation. Kentucky racetracks such as Churchill Downs, Ellis Park, The Red Mile, and more will open a sportsbook on September 7.
Beshear said sports betting coming to Kentucky has been a thing long debated, and is excited to bring it to the Commonwealth.
“This is something that the people of Kentucky have wanted and demanded for years, that virtually every one of our surrounding states had adopted, but the general assembly year after year had refused. And, along with Michael Meredith, the primary bill sponsor, we were able to turn and flip enough votes to finally give Kentuckians what they had demanded, that is the chance to use their entertainment dollars for sports betting.”
It is estimated Kentucky will bring in roughly $23 million from sports betting revenue, which Beshear said will be used to help fund various parts of the state.
“Think about how many people go to Las Vegas for the first round of the NCAA tournament or other major events; we are now going to have those destinations at our racetracks and their off-site facilities. We want to use this revenue to pave our roads, to educate our kids, to expand healthcare here in Kentucky, and not have those dollars, have those benefits, in other states.”
Sports betting apps FanDuel, Fanatics, DraftKings, Caesars, Bet365, BetMGM, Circa Sports, and Penn Sports Interactive will begin operating on September 28.
WMKY reached out to the office of Daniel Cameron for his views, but we did not get a response.
