Kentucky launched legal retail sports betting on September 7, 2023, and online betting took effect three weeks later. The state governing body, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, has now published numbers for the 12 months through the end of August.
FanDuel beats DraftKings in Kentucky
Kentucky gamblers preferred online betting, with a total spend of $2.3 billion in the first year. In contrast, retail sports betting attracted $87.1 million in bets during the 12-month period.
In terms of revenue, online betting generated US$264.3 million and retail betting generated US$7.8 million. The numbers refer to adjusted gross income, which is income after player winnings and federal excise tax.
On the tax front, Kentucky raised $37.7 million from online sports betting and $756,517 from retail betting. As for retention, the state’s first-year total was 9.28%, with 11.5% online and 8.91% retail.
Looking at individual operators, FanDuel, owned by Flutter Entertainment, led the online market during the first year of regulation. FanDuel reported $105.9 million in adjusted gross revenue from $817.0 million in wagering, leaving a 12.96% share.
DraftKings was just behind its long-term rival with $100.9 million in revenue despite a larger turnover of $895.0 million. This resulted in an online share of 11.27% for the year.
BetMGM also stands out in the state
Other standout performers – albeit slightly behind the leading duo – include BetMGM. In the first year, BetMGM recorded US$18.9 million in online revenue with a turnover of US$143.6 million, resulting in a share of 13.16%.
Bet365 was next, with $13.5 million of $157.3 million and an 8.58% share, followed by ESPN Bet, formerly Penn Sports Interactive, with $10.6 million of $104 .3 million, resulting in a share of 10.16%.
Caesars also had a solid first year, with revenue of $9 million on turnover of $117.5 million, leaving a 7.66% share. Fanatics rounded out the top brands list with $3.7 million out of $51.6 million, representing a 7.13% share.
As for retail betting, Churchill Downs and partner Kambi led the way with $2.5 million out of $35.1 million, representing a 7.06% share. Turfway Park, also a Kambi partner, came second with US$920,878 of US$14.7 million, representing a 6.25% share.
Revenue falls, despite increased movement in August
As for the last month of the 12-month period, total spending in August was US$151.4 million. This represents an increase of 17.1% compared to the previous month. Online bets exceeded $147 million and retail bets exceeded $4.4 million.
However, adjusted gross revenue in August reached $11.8 million, a 21.9% drop from July’s $15.1 million. Of this total, US$11.5 million came from online betting and US$265,547 from retail betting.
The overall monthly retention for Kentucky was 7.79%, with 7.82% online and 6.07% retail.
DraftKings led the online market with revenue of $4.9 million on $56.7 million. FanDuel came in second with $3.8 million out of $45.2 million, followed by BetMGM with $889,558 out of $8.8 million.
Red Mile and partner Caesars were the retail leaders, with revenue of $68,281 on bets of $1.3 million.
Kentucky and other American states in the first year
Kentucky is the most recent state to complete a 12-month period of legal sports betting, with its year running from the beginning of last September to the end of August this year.
Of all US states, Kentucky is in the middle of the rankings in terms of total population, with estimates for 2023 of around 4.5 million citizens. But comparing Kentucky to other states of similar size and how they fared on the year, the Bluegrass State fared well.
Louisiana, which has a similar population, generated about $188.3 million in the first year, behind Kentucky’s $272 million. The first year in Louisiana was from November 2021 to October 2022.
Elsewhere, Oregon, which has a slightly smaller population than Kentucky, opened its legal market in October 2019. So in its first year, revenue reached just $2.9 million on a turnover of U.S. $45.3 million.
Lastly, Colorado was pretty similar in terms of movement during its freshman year. In the 12 months to the end of April 2021, revenue reached $66 million, slightly lower than Kentucky, although traffic was close at $2.34 million.
