Kentucky regulators remain on track for a sports betting launch in time for the NFL season after awarding licenses Tuesday.
The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission unanimously approved multiple operator and service provider licenses to ensure the Kentucky sports betting market can get off the ground September 7, beginning with in-person sportsbooks. The approved licensees include seven tracks and nine service providers.
“We are excited to open sports betting September 7, working through this careful process,” KHRC Chairman Jonathan Rabinowitz said during the meeting.
Online sports betting in Kentucky begins September 28.
Approved Kentucky sports betting licenses
Last month, Gov. Andy Beshear announced seven sportsbooks that applied for service provider licenses, including US sports betting leaders FanDuel and DraftKings. All of those operators were approved.
New to the list was Kambi, which will provide in-person services for Churchill Downs properties, as Churchill Downs Race & Sportsbook. Also a late addition is Fanatics Sportsbook, a noticeable absence in the initial announcement as it plans its US footprint.
Approved service providers with connected horse racing tracks licensed for sports betting:
- Bet365 (Sandy’s Racing and Gaming)
- BetMGM (Sandy’s Racing & Gaming)
- Caesars (The Red Mile)
- Circa Sports (Cumberland Run)
- DraftKings (Cumberland Run)
- Fanatics (Oak Grove)
- FanDuel (Turfway Park)
- Kambi (Churchill Downs)
- Penn Sports Interactive (Ellis Park)
Important dates coming for Kentucky sports betting
KHRC awarded temporary licenses Tuesday, but all can upgrade to permanent ones. That process will be done on a case-by-case basis, according to KHRC staff.
A catalog of approved sports for betting will be completed before the September 7 launch date, according to staff.
Kentuckians can begin registering on the online apps August 28 and start depositing into accounts September 7.
On track for speedy Kentucky debut
Beshear and the KHRC have sped toward the launch in time for NFL betting since the governor signed the sports betting bill March 31.
The quick turnaround will be among the fastest in US sports betting, aligned with Arizona and Kansas in the previous two years.
The beginning of sports betting will mark the end of a process that began in 2017, when then-Rep. Adam Koenig first introduced a sports betting bill.
