The Bluegrass State produced its lowest full month of sports betting handle and revenue since online wagering began in late September 2023.
The Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Commission reported that online and retail sportsbooks combined to accept $150.3 million of wagers in June, down 17.1% from May. It was the first true summer slowdown month for Bluegrass bettors as the NBA and NHL wrapped up their seasons and MLB presented the majority of major betting events.
Gross revenue fell 27% month-over-month to $15.8 million while the 10.5% hold, seventh lowest all-time, dropped nearly 1.5 points from May.
Adjusted revenue of $15.4 million in June led to $2.2 million in taxes paid to the Commonwealth.
Impressive first half
Despite the lower figures in June, the amount wagered in Kentucky all-time surpassed $2 billion while operators have hauled in more than $250 million of profits and filled Kentucky’s coffers with $35.3 million in tax revenue.
Kentucky sports betting has also generated a handle of $1.2 billion and revenue of more than $143.9 million in the first six months of 2024. Operators have enjoyed an 11.6% hold year-to-date.
Battle of the bigs
| Operator | June Handle | Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| DraftKings | $56.6 million | $5.4 million |
| FanDuel | $47.3 million | $6.7 million |
| bet365 | $15.5 million | $1.2 million |
| Caesars | $9.1 million | $415,734 |
| BetMGM | $8.2 million | $817,747 |
| ESPN BET | $4.2 million | $404,916 |
Online sports betting accounted for $145.7 million of Kentucky’s total handle in June.
DraftKings generated the highest amount of wagering in the Commonwealth with a $56.6 million handle. The online operator’s hold fell just shy of double digits, allowing FanDuel to rake in the most revenue in June on a $47.3 million handle.
FanDuel had a win rate above 14% for the third consecutive month and posted the state’s best hold.
June was a solid month for bet365, which captured third place in online handle and was the only other sportsbook to reach $1.2 million in revenue. Caesars got to $9.1 million in wagers while BetMGM wasn’t far behind with an $8.2 million handle while also enjoying a 9.3% hold.
ESPN BET had the second-highest win rate for June at 10%, but the PENN Entertainment-owned sportsbook mustered just the sixth-best handle and made half of BetMGM’s total revenue.
Fanatics wasn’t far behind with a handle of $4 million, and Circa produced a 13% hold on a handle of $805,833 in its first full month since launching in Kentucky in May.
Churchill Downs dominates
Retail sports betting produced a handle of $4.6 million in June, down from May’s $5.8 million. Brick-and-mortar shops combined for an 11.3% hold.
Churchill Downs made up much of Kentucky’s amount wagered, accounting for $2.3 million at its Kambi-operated sportsbook. Turfway Park finished second with a handle of $821,930 while Red Mile generated $782,285 in bets.
