It won’t be long before Kentuckians can place a legal sports bet, and some of the state’s online sportsbooks are offering early signups and bonuses to boot.
The First Three
Although retail sportsbooks in the Bluegrass State are set to open on September 7th and mobile books are scheduled to launch on September 28th, three digital books are getting a jump on things in Kentucky sports betting.
According to reports, DraftKings, Bet365, and FanDuel are all open for early signups and are dishing out bonuses to woo new customers to their book of business. FanDuel, America’s most popular sportsbook, is handing out up to $100 in bonus bets to first-time signups and a coupon for a discount of $100 off an NFL Sunday Ticket subscription.
Meanwhile, DraftKings is giving out eight $25 bonus bets on launch day to all those early signups who have never had a DraftKings sports betting account. And over at Bet365, they are giving away $10 bonus bets (maximum of $50) for every touchdown scored in the September 28th Lions/Packers game.
The sportsbook apps are available on iOS and Android devices which, once downloaded, will ask the following questions:
- Email address (for correspondence and logging in on future visits)
- Legal name (for tax purposes)
- Mailing address (for tax purposes)
- Social Security Number (for tax purposes and to verify your eligibility to place wagers)
What Will Sports Betting Look Like in Kentucky?
The following retail sportsbooks are scheduled to launch on September 7th with online partners in parentheses:
- Churchill Downs Racetrack (FanDuel)
- Cumberland Run Harness Track
- Ellis Park Racing & Gaming
- Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel
- Red Mile Racetrack (Caesars)
- Sandy’s Gaming & Racing (BetMGM)
- Turfway Park Racing & Gaming
As for the online sportsbooks planning on going live on September 28th, the following apps will reportedly be available on launch day:
- Bet365
- BetMGM
- Caesars Sportsbook
- Circa Sportsbook
- DraftKings
- FanDuel
- Penn National (morphing from Barstool Sportsbook to ESPN Bet)
The sports betting bill, HB 551, allows each of the state’s nine tracks to partner with up to three Kentucky online sports betting entities, which could result in a maximum of 27 online sportsbooks in Kentucky, but that hardly seems likely as not all the tracks will want more than one skin (online betting partner).
The racetracks that choose to open a sportsbook will pay an initial fee of $500,000 and an annual fee thereafter of $50,000 while the mobile books will be charged with an initial $50,000 fee followed by a $10,000 annual fee.
The tax rate for sportsbooks on gross revenue is 9.75% for retail operators and 14.25% for mobile providers. The minimum age to place a sports bet is the same as it is in Kentucky for betting on horse racing or the lottery – 18 years old.
Governor Andy Beshear projects the state to make roughly $23 million per year in taxes from the newly created sports betting industry.
Calculators
