Kentucky Sports Betting
Published on 24 Jul 2020
Kentucky has not joined the states that made sports betting legal after the PASPA law was repealed in 2018. Lawmakers and lobbyists are doing their best to push the gambling bills that would give a green light to top sportsbooks that already shine in New Jersey, Nevada, and other betting industry pioneer states. However, it’s still unclear when the first legal wager can be made in the Bluegrass state.
Best Kentucky Sports Betting Sites
So, as Kentucky is lagging behind with sports betting legalization, the only thing left for locals is to wager at offshore betting platforms. The US authorities don’t welcome it, of course, mainly due to the enormous leak of funds to foreign jurisdictions and overall risks for gamblers. However, there is no official ban on it, and no punishment for wagering at various offshore platforms.
We selected the best sites accepting players from the United States including Kentucky. Later in this review, we will give you some insights on how we choose the sportsbooks.
| Sportsbook | Year Established | Minimum deposit |
|---|---|---|
| BetOnline | 2004 | $10-$50 |
| BetUS | 1994 | $10 |
| Bovada | 2011 | $10-$50 |
| MyBookie | 2014 | $25 |
| SportsBetting.ag | 1999 | $10 |
| XBet | 2007 | $20 |
Is Sports Betting Legal in Kentucky?
No, sports betting is not legalized yet. Here is the latest news related to sports betting legislation attempts:
It all started in February 2022, when Rep. Adam Koenig introduced his first Kentucky sports betting bill. It received the Kentucky House approval next month.
Besides, there was one more bill, SB 213, from the Senator David Yates: it was aimed to legalize online poker and daily fantasy sports betting in the state.
However, in April 2022, both KY sports betting bills died in the Senate. The situation is very unclear now and it’s hard to predict if the next attempts will receive enough support to be finally successful.
However, at the moment you can wager on horse races. You can’t opt for the off-track betting, and there are no legal online betting sites. Instead, bettors have to do with offshore bookies offers all sorts of gambling entertainment outside of the US jurisdiction.
Popular Sport Teams for Sports Betting in Kentucky
Although Kentucky has many sports betting fans, they can’t vow for their fav home teams. There are none professional franchises in Kentucky. However, it’s home for many great college sports teams that bring many talents to NBA and NFL rosters. There are seven D-1 universities in Kentucky, and all of them have strong outstanding NCAA football and NCAA basketball teams:
- University of Kentucky Wildcats
- University of Louisville Cardinals
- Eastern Kentucky University Colonels
- Morehead State University Eagles
- Murray State University Racers
- Northern Kentucky University Norse
- Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers
Besides, race betting, the only allowed type of sports betting, is also very popular. Besides, Kentucky hosts the famous Kentucky Derby, one of the most prominent tournaments in the horse racing worldwide. However, Kentucky has more tracks than Churchill Downs, where the Derby takes place:
- Players Bluegrass Downs
- Keeneland Race Course
- Kentucky Downs
- Red Mile
- Ellis Park Race Track
- Thunder Ridge
- Turfway Park
What to Look for When choosing a KY Sports Betting Sites
As all the available Kentucky sports betting sites are offshore, you need to be twice careful when you sign up at one. We recommend you to stick to our selection as we personally tried them all, but if you want to know more about how we chose them, or look for something else, we prepared this instruction for you.
License and Legality
As there is no online sports betting site in Kentucky that you can call legal today, we are considering the ones that are located offshore. Again, there is no ban on offshore bookies.
However, if you have any payout or fraud issues, your local authorities won’t help you.
In fact, no one will — and here is the main risk of offshore sports betting.
To avoid such problems, make sure a sports betting site has a gambling license. Many offshore sports betting sites that target US players have a Curacao Gaming Board or Isle of Man licenses, but there are more jurisdictions, reliable or not so trusted ones.
Available Sports
To check the quality of a sports betting site, look at what it offers. If it has only a couple of sports with the major leagues within each discipline, it’s not the best choice. Probably, it may mean poor betting software and thus low odds and inaccurate forecasts.
We recommend to stick to bookmakers that offer at least twenty discipline. Look at what is available within each: for instance, how many leagues and tournaments you can wager on within soccer or basketball? If you like exotic sports, check the odds for them, too, as they are usually too high at most bookmakers.
Betting Options
The coverage of every event also matters. Nobody wants to go with only moneylines, and if you love wagering on prop bets, creating monster teasers, or use BetBuilders, make sure your next online betting site is equipped enough for you. If you are into live betting, make sure a bookie offers extra features like live streaming, cash out, quick bets, and a match center with live stats and scores.
Bonuses and Promotions
Not all bettors love bonuses as wagering requirements can be pretty high. You can’t withdraw anything before you rollover your first deposit bonus, for example. So, make sure that an online betting site offers a fair bonus program with adequate conditions and transparent rules. Besides, it might be nice to have boosted odds for selected markets, so check if a sportsbook offers such promos.
Latest Bonuses
Customer Support
You might need help any time, so having helpful customer service on hand is essential. We recommend sports betting sites with help centers working 24/7 and offering convenient contact methods like live chats or toll-free phone numbers. Besides, you can check customer reviews at various independent platforms to see what the other clients say about the service and the overall bookmaker’s performance.
Mobile Sports Gambling in KY
As Kentucky has not legalized sports betting yet, there are no mobile apps you can use. If you bet at offshore sites, you can try out their mobile version. The sports betting sites from our selection have managed to create very convenient sites for mobile browsers. If Kentucky legalizes sports betting in the future, you might see the following apps to become the pioneers of mobile sports betting in the Bluegrass state:
| Sportsbook | iOS app | Android app | Available in Mississippi |
|---|---|---|---|
| DraftKings | Yes | Yes | In partner casinos |
| BetMGM | Yes | Yes | In partner casinos |
| FanDuel | Yes | Yes | In partner casinos |
Conclusion
Kentucky has many hurdles on its way to legalizing sports betting. It might take several years before the first legal sports bet will be placed in the state. Despite the legality of horse racing betting, the state still might have pretty considerable revenues if online and mobile betting went live. The only option at the moment is offshore gambling, which is not only about sports betting, but also slots and poker, which all can not be regulated by the local KY authorities. We will keep you updated on the further changes of the gambling law in Kentucky and let you be the first to know when the gambling era of the Bluegrass state begins.
FAQ
No, sports betting is not legal in Kentucky. The only legalized wagering options is betting on horse racing while you are physically located on a track. There are no retail betting shops and legal sports betting sites working under a local jurisdiction.
According to the local law, you can’t. However, offshore sportsbooks are not banned, and there is no punishment for using them.
You have only two options. The first one is wagering on horse racing in-person. As an alternative, you can join an offshore sports betting site to make online bets at any sports available at this site.
As the latest sports betting bills has recently died in Senate, it’s not clear when the next attempt will be and when Kentucky will legalize sports betting. The lawmakers are hoping for more support in the next couple of years, but at the moment, it’s all about speculations.
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