Kentucky Sports Betting Handle Breaks Another Record

Legalized Kentucky sports betting is now more than one year old. And it continues to reset monthly records.

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, which oversees sports betting in The Bluegrass State, recently released handle and revenue figures for November 2024. (As a reminder: Revenue reports for sports betting in the United States typically run two months behind. It takes a few weeks for the data to be compiled, verified and then obtained by each state’s regulatory bodies.) The returns are, as ever, an encouraging sign for Kentucky sportsbooks.

Granted, this will not surprise anyone who has paid attention to this market’s growth. Officials repeatedly note that the launch of sports betting in Kentucky continues to dramatically exceed expectations. 

Still, eventually, you expect month-over-month growth to slow down. That has yet to happen in The Bluegrass State.

According to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, the state’s sports betting handle hit $301.7 million. That is not only an improvement when comparing it to the same month in 2023. It is the single highest monthly Kentucky sports betting handle of all time.

For some, this milestone loses a little luster knowing the legal sports betting market in The Bluegrass State remains in its infancy. So far, we are working with a sample of 15 individual months. But while that is a reasonable note, it does not downplay the trajectory on which the market appears to be heading.

Kentucky Sports Betting Handle Now Has The Chance To Clear $2.5 Billion For The Year 

Industry analysts were left impressed—sometimes shocked—when the Kentucky sports betting handle hit $2 billion in time for the 12-month anniversary of its launch. As it turns out, though, the overall returns for the 2024 calendar year may blow that benchmark out of the water.

Following the latest report, the Kentucky sports betting handle for 2024 now sits at just over $2.3 billion. And though you are reading this in 2025, we still do not have the data for December 2025. When those final reports come in, The Bluegrass State could wind up comfortably surpassing $2.5 billion for the calendar year.

Emphasis on comfortably.

This past year, on average, sportsbooks in Kentucky have processed around $212.2 million in total wagers per month. That by itself is more than the $167(ish) million the market needs to creep past $2.5 billion for 2024. So if that average holds, Kentucky’s handle will climb to around $2.6 billion. 

But even this may prove to be a conservative estimate.

Will The Bluegrass State Set Yet Another Record Next Time?

If we use December 2023 as a baseline, the Kentucky December 2024 sports betting handle should come in around $267 million. Hitting that number brings the total 2024 handle to roughly $2.7 billion. 

And this assumes zero growth. It’s reasonable to bank on an increase. After all, the Kentucky sports betting market is more established than this time last year. On top of that, December also coincides with an onrush of betting on the NFL playoffs. 

Beyond that, December in Kentucky also tends to be a good month for betting on college basketball. The University of Kentucky Wildcats are the state’s most popular team. And their basketball program tends to incite more interest than even college football betting.

It should not surprise anyone, then, if the Kentucky handle breaks the monthly record it just set. Clearing $300 million for the second time ever is in play. And that, in turn, may fast track the 2024 Kentucky sports betting handle for $2.8 billion territory. 

The significance of that number—and Kentucky’s current pace—should not be taken lightly. If the present situation holds, they will wind up having a better opening full calendar year than more densely populated states like Maryland and Colorado.

What is the Ceiling on the Kentucky Betting Market?

It is difficult, nigh impossible, to answer this question for the time being. Never mind that the Kentucky sports betting market is not yet old enough. The entire sports betting industry in the United States continues to climb month-over-month, year-over-year. At the moment, the industry has yet to establish a generalized ceiling, let alone one for individual markets.

However, there is a chance that Kentucky has more room for annual growth than many other markets. Its relative newness helps. More than that, though, its business does not figure to be impacted by any other legalization trends. 

On the contrary, of their bordering states, Kentucky was essentially the last to launch some form of sports betting. The legalization of sports betting in Missouri came after and has yet to launch. Once it goes live, Kentucky could see some business from inbound travelers migrate back to The Show Me State.

At the same time, Kentucky does not share a huge border with Missouri. The amount of business coming from The Show Me State is likely negligible. This effectively means that Kentucky sports betting is not reliant on any other market shares to achieve current growth rates. 

Make no mistake, this matters—a great deal, actually. Consider the Kansas sports betting market as a counter. State officials have noted on multiple occasions they expect a good chunk of their business to drop once Missouri sports betting launches at the end of 2025. To what extent that impacts The Sunflower State remains to be seen. But the fact that it must be taken into account at all is a looming curveball. The Kentucky sports betting market, on the other hand, has little, if any, additional competition to worry about.

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