- DraftKings led Kentucky’s nine online betting apps with $85.1 million of June’s $219.3 million handle, a 38.8 percent share.
- Every Kentucky betting app operates on a horse track’s license, and eight tracks hosted nine apps in June.
- Churchill Downs hosted the smallest app, with Prime handling $1.6 million, under 1 percent of online wagers.
- Online operators reported $19.1 million in revenue and paid $2.7 million in tax at the 14.25 percent rate.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – DraftKings took $85.1 million of Kentucky sports betting handle in June, 38.8 percent of the state’s $219.3 million in online wagers, according to the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation’s Sports Wagering Market Report. Every dollar of it was booked on the license of Cumberland Run, a harness track in Corbin.
Eight Tracks Carry Nine Apps
Kentucky’s 2023 wagering law, KY HB 551, reserved sports wagering licenses for the state’s licensed horse tracks and let each licensee contract with up to three online service providers. Every app in the market rides one of those licenses, and the corporation reports each brand beside its host track. June is the most recent month the corporation has published.
Eight tracks hosted nine apps in June, and Sandy’s Racing & Gaming in Ashland was the only track carrying two. Its tenants, bet365 at $25.1 million and BetMGM at $15.9 million, combined for $41 million, the third-busiest license in the state. FanDuel’s $62.7 million through Turfway Park in Florence ranked second behind Cumberland Run.
Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby, hosted the smallest book. Prime handled $1.6 million on the Louisville track’s license, 0.75 percent of the online market.
Two Apps Took Two-Thirds Of The Money
DraftKings and FanDuel combined for $147.8 million, or 67.4 percent of online handle. Behind them, Fanatics handled $14.3 million through Oak Grove, Caesars took $10.1 million through Red Mile in Lexington, Penn Sports Interactive’s ESPN Bet wrote $2.5 million through Ellis Park, and Circa booked $2.0 million through Kentucky Downs. Those nine brands make up the regulated field of Kentucky online sportsbooks.
The apps reported $19.1 million in adjusted gross revenue for the month and paid $2.7 million in tax at the 14.25 percent online rate the law sets. Circa’s line shows June handle through Kentucky Downs but no revenue for the month.
Handle Slipped, Revenue Fell Faster
Online handle declined 7.5 percent from May’s $237.2 million, and revenue fell 25.1 percent from $25.5 million, because the two biggest books kept less of what they took. DraftKings’ hold eased to 8.9 percent from 10.2 percent in May, and FanDuel’s fell to 10.2 percent from 12.6 percent.
Kentucky’s margins followed the national pattern in June, when sportsbooks posted record handle as the World Cup thinned hold. Thinner hold meant a smaller share of the month’s wagers stayed with the books, and the state’s tax collection shrank with it.
Retail Stayed Under Two Percent
Retail windows at the tracks handled $3.4 million in June, 1.5 percent of the state’s $222.7 million combined handle, and paid $53,328 in tax at the 9.75 percent retail rate. Churchill Downs ran the busiest counter at $924,909 through service provider Kambi, more than half of what Prime handled statewide on the same track’s mobile license. The split shows a market that arrives almost entirely by phone, the pattern that holds across online gambling sites for USA players.
The corporation publishes the market report monthly. July’s figures, when posted, will show whether the two-app concentration held through the deepest part of the sports calendar’s summer trough.