Kentucky sports betting activity boomed this Thursday as residents took to legal betting apps for the first time in state history.
Online Kentucky sportsbooks saw more than 2 million geolocation check-ins over their first 24 hours, according to GeoComply, a software company betting apps use to track user locations. That is more than twice as many check-ins than Louisiana, which is slightly larger in population than Kentucky, saw on its first day of online betting, GeoComply noted in a press release.
GeoComply defines a geolocation check-in as any time a user engages with an online sportsbook, which includes:
- Registering an account
- Logging in
- Logging back in
- Placing a bet
For further context, GeoComply reported 242.3 million geolocation transactions across 24 states during the first week of the NFL regular season.
Active Kentucky sports betting accounts
More than 200,000 accounts were active across seven apps that launched in Kentucky Thursday, according to GeoComply:
- Barstool Sportsbook
- Bet365
- BetMGM
- Caesars
- DraftKings
- Fanatics
- FanDuel
Last week Gov. Andy Beshear noted that more than 60,000 accounts were pre-registered.
Online betting adds to a hot start
Kentucky legalized sports betting in March after years of failed attempts. In-person betting went live in September, garnering over $4.5 million in wagers through the first two weeks. It was one of the fastest states to launch, joining markets like Arizona and Kansas.
“With college football and the NFL season underway, plus the launch of mobile wagering, we expect that number will grow significantly,” Beshear said last week. “This is a strong number that certainly reflects the excitement Kentuckians have for the opening of sports wagering.”
LSR projections suggest Kentucky operators will bring it up to $1 billion by the end of the year. Ultimately, LSR estimates sportsbooks will generate up to $2.9 billion in wagers annually in the Bluegrass State.
