Kentucky Rolled Out Legal Retail Sportsbooks on Sept. 7
Retail sportsbooks in Kentucky rolled out legal sports betting across the state on Sept. 7. Going live with in-person sports wagers was perfectly timed with the Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Detroit Lions on Thursday Night Football in Week 1 of the NFL regular season.
Governor Andy Beshear placed the first ceremonial sports wager at Churchill Downs Race & Sports Book that day and Kentucky was the 35th state to have legal sports betting in the US market. The Bluegrass State became the fourth market this year with legal sportsbooks after Ohio, Massachusetts and Nebraska.
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Gov. Beshear commented as he placed the first bet:
“I want to thank Churchill Downs for all of their great work in making today possible along with all of our other tracks that have worked hard to be open in record time. Our horse industry is phenomenal. It is part of who we are and it is also an enormous industry that drives our economy. I could not be more proud of the work that Churchill and Kentucky Downs, and The Red Mile and all our other tracks put in, the number of people they employ and now, helping us get to this historic moment. Happy sports betting day in the Commonwealth of Kentucky!”
The launch for Kentucky’s retail sportsbooks came six months after Gov. Beshear signed House Bill 551, which legalized sports betting in the state. The first phase of Kentucky’s legal sports betting was in person (Sept. 7) at retail sportsbooks in live horse tracks, OTB’s and historical horse racing venues. The next phase is online at Kentucky sportsbook operators with websites and mobile betting apps. This state-wide rollout is planned for Sept. 28.
Each of the seven state horse tracks can have up to three online sportsbook operators. DraftKings is offering $200 in bonus bets to new customers ahead of the online launch later this month. BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook are offering $100 in online bonus bets ahead of the launch. FanDuel is also offering $100 in bonus bets and $100 discount on NFL Sunday Ticket.
There are nine retail sportsbooks in Kentucky as of Sept. 7 with two more planned in the coming months.
Leading off is Churchill Downs Race & Sports Book. The sportsbook is located in the Aristide Lounge on the second floor of the Churchill clubhouse in Louisville. It has 15 sports betting kiosks and six betting windows. Churchill Downs also has a 168-square-foot video screen and 20 smaller televisions to broadcast games. The space can hold up to 280 sports betting customers and Kambi has the digital platform for all the sports wagers.
Also in Louisville is the Derby City Gaming and Hotel. This sportsbook has a 300-square-foot video screen and 12 big televisions to broadcast all the games. There are betting kiosks inside the Sports & Entertainment Bar. The sportsbook at this CDI venue will also use Kambi as the sports betting platform.
In Henderson, Ellis Park Racing & Gaming has sports betting kiosks inside the Dade Park Bar & Grill and throughout the horse racing facility. Ellis Park has Barstool Sportsbook as its online partner.
Newport Racing and Gaming in Newport is a Churchill Downs Inc. OTB venue. The sportsbook has a betting window and 10 betting kiosks spread throughout the property. There are 20 oversized televisions to broadcast the games.
Churchill Downs runs a harness track in Oak Grove. The Oak Grove Racing, Gaming and Hotel has a 300-square-foot video screen and eight oversized televisions in the sportsbook area. There are 20 sports betting kiosks around the Oak Grove property.
The other retail sportsbooks in Kentucky are the Mint Gaming Hall at Cumberland Run in Corbin and Williamsburg, The Red Mile in Lexington and the Turfway Park Racing and Gaming in Florence. The sportsbook at Turfway Park has 15 betting kiosks, including the Bourbon & Brew restaurant. There are 16 big TVs to watch the games.
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