Legal sports betting is expected to start in Kentucky in time for the kickoff of the National Football League’s regular season — but only at horse-racing tracks and other physical facilities in the Bluegrass State.
The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) met Monday in Lexington and approved rules for retail and online sports betting sites in the state.
According to those regulations, retail sports betting at the state’s racetracks will roll out on Sept. 7 — the same day the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs will host the Detroit Lions to begin the NFL season — and mobile wagering will begin on Sept. 28.
“In summary, the commission stands prepared to fulfill its responsibility of regulating and overseeing sports wagering in the commonwealth,” said Waqas Ahmed, the KHRC’s deputy executive director, during Monday’s meeting. “We intend to ensure it is to the benefit of the local industry and the public, remaining steadfast in our commitment to the principles of fairness, integrity, and responsibility.”
In short: sports betting will be available at Kentucky horse-racing tracks in time for the start of the NFL's regular season on Sept. 7. Then, a few weeks later, mobile apps and sites will go live. https://t.co/nwJIFaHwDD
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Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signed legal sports betting legislation into law on March 31, kicking the issue over to regulators to start laying the groundwork for a hopefully speedy launch. The KHRC has six months from the effective date of the law to get rules for Kentucky sports betting in place, which would be Dec. 29 of this year.
Beshear's office said Monday that Kentucky's licensed horse-racing facilities can start applying on Tuesday to open retail sportsbooks at their main location or an authorized satellite spot. There are 14 such locations, although four have yet to open. They are:
- Churchill Downs in Louisville
- Cumberland Run in Corbin (coming soon)
- Derby City Gaming in Louisville
- Derby City Gaming in Louisville (coming soon)
- Ellis Park in Owensboro (coming soon)
- Ellis Park in Henderson
- Keeneland in Lexington
- Kentucky Downs in Franklin
- The Mint Gaming Hall in Bowling Green
- Newport Racing and Gaming in Newport
- Oak Grove Gaming and Racing in Oak Grove
- The Red Mile in Lexington
- Sandy’s Gaming and Racing in Ashland (coming soon)
- Turfway Park in Florence
"The state anticipates that each facility will open a retail location, and many will be ready to launch Sept. 7," a press release from Beshear's office stated.
A spokesperson for Louisville-based Churchill Downs Inc. said they intend to open their retail sportsbook on September 7, licensing and regulations permitting.
"Churchill Downs continues to move forward with ongoing efforts to make sports wagering available at our established racing and gaming facilities throughout Kentucky, and we will share updates as plans are finalized," the company said in a statement. "We are excited for the opportunities sports betting brings for tourism and economic development across the Commonwealth and for the chance to welcome new guests into our entertainment venues to also wager on live and historical racing, which will further strengthen our state’s signature equine industry."
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State residents will have to be 18 or older to wager but could have as many as 27 mobile apps and sites to choose from under Kentucky law when all is said and done. That's in addition to the physical sportsbooks at the state's horse-racing tracks, such as Churchill Downs, and at locations linked to those tracks, such as the homes of slot-like historical racing machines and simulcasting facilities for pari-mutuel wagering.
“This is a historic day for our commonwealth – sports wagering will open for the first time in Kentucky in less than 60 days,” Beshear said in the release. “Bringing sports wagering to the state not only gives Kentuckians a much-anticipated new form of entertainment, but also brings money to the state to support pensions, freeing up money that can be used to build a better Kentucky through the funding of education, economic development, disaster recovery and other necessary projects, like providing cleaner water, building roads and high-speed internet.”
The KHRC has been consulting with other regulators and the gaming industry over the past few months to craft its sports-betting rules. Given Kentucky is the 37th state to legalize sports betting, it has the benefit of learning from the examples of others that have gone first. The call to go with a "tiered" launch, with retail first and then mobile after, is one other states have used, allowing "for testing of policy and procedure before the full rollout that will include mobile applications," Beshear's release said.
The regulator also needs to add bodies to help its oversight of sports betting. That is a work in progress, although the KHRC has friends in high places to ensure they are ready.
“I will tell you that we do have 14 positions we're hiring for… but if we need more, we'll get more,” KHRC Chairman Jonathan Rabinowitz said Monday. “And the governor has gone out of his way to make sure that we have all the staffing and resources necessary to get the job done. So, I'm not worried about that.”
