The entity charged with the regulation of sports betting in Kentucky, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, has suggested that the goal of launch by NFL season kick-off looks achievable.
The most recent meeting, held on 20 June, 2023, confirmed that the commission was planning an early July workshop session to review and approve the draft regulations, paving the way for a timely launch.
The NFL season gets underway on 7th September, and in the US calendar is often pinpointed as one of the busiest weekends for sports wagering. The US market still remains very centered around US sports properties, with American Football and Basketball the two largest markets, followed by Baseball and Ice Hockey. Sports such as soccer, tennis (and so on) are exhibiting a semblance of growth across the board but they shan’t come close to dethroning the US heavyweights.
Draft regulations for the state will be available on the commission’s website in due course, Kentucky Horse Racing Commission Chairman Jonathan Rabinowitz has announced. He also revealed that the KHRC has been in consultancy with regulators in five different states:
- Colorado
- Ohio
- New Jersey
- Indiana
- Massachusetts
All of the aforementioned have had regulated sports betting offerings for a considerable while. Colorado sports betting regulators recently put a pause on the official launch of new rules around sports betting exchanges. The only place a bettor can legally use an exchange at the moment is with New Jersey online sports betting.
The KHRC is hiring up to 14 staff in order to keep the prospective launch date on track, and Governor Andy Beshear remains confident too – according to an interview with WKLY.
Following the legalization of HB 551, a bill brought by Kentucky’s Rep. Michael Lee Meredith, the legislation wil take effect on 28 June, 2023. After that date, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission will have six months to implement sports betting with its own set of rules, applications, tendering process and of course regulation.
Kentucky does not have any sort of casino wagering in terms of tribal or commercial casinos. It does, however, have terminals at the race courses which offer residents of Kentucky instant racing terminals. In addition, lottery and iLottery exist. Sorts betting would be a further part of the brand’s offering.