Kentucky January Sports Betting Handle Rises 12.8%

NFL playoff success helped operators haul in $33.6 million in January, down 6.7% from last year’s third-highest month ever. Their $33 million in adjusted revenue has only been bested twice as well. 

The 12.1% hold was impressive, but was 2.5 points lower than last year’s 14.6%, the second-highest since Kentucky sports betting launched in Sept. 2023. Sportsbooks paid the commonwealth $4.6 million in January taxes, which received over $58 million during the last 17 reported months.

Monthly improvement  

The solid month was due to some NFL course correction. Favorites won at a high rate in Dec. 2024, but that evened out during the postseason. January revenue rose 66.3% compared to the previous month. 

Dec. 2024's 6.9% hold was the lowest ever produced during a full month of Kentucky wagering but jumped over four points in January. The better month came despite a 5.4% decrease in the amount of January bets. 

Close battle 

Online sports betting accounted for $270.1 million of January's total handle. FanDuel overtook DraftKings to lead the Bluegrass State with a $96.2 million handle. However, DraftKings wasn’t far behind with $95 million wagered, and the online book finished slightly ahead of FanDuel with $13.4 million in profit, thanks to an impressive 14% hold.   

bet365 continued to hold down the third spot with a $26.6 million handle, while its $2.4 million in revenue increased 142% month-over-month. Fanatics Sportsbook went from sixth in December to fourth in January behind a $15.2 million handle and generated $1.6 million, a new Kentucky high for the operator. 

Caesars beat BetMGM by $500,000 in handle, but both returned similar profits. ESPN BET generated $7.5 million in wagers during January, while Crica Sports recorded a $2.9 million handle. However, Crica Sports reported a $200,000 adjusted revenue loss.   

Back in black  

After a Dec. 2024 loss, retail sportsbooks bounced back to generate over $711,000 in gross revenue and $696,000 in adjusted income. Only two brick-and-mortar operators finished in the red compared to five from the previous month. 

Bettors wagered more than $6.1 million in-person, as Churchill Downs led the way with a $2.1 million handle. Red Mile and Turfway Park also took in over $1 million in bets during January.  Red Mile was the biggest winner, hauling in over $309,000 in adjusted revenue.