Kentucky Sportsbooks Accept a Combined $465.5 Million in Wagers in January and February

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has been notoriously slow in reporting its legal sports betting revenue since its launch. This week, we finally got a glimpse into January and February’s legal sports betting figures, and the results for our best sports betting sites are mixed.

The hold rate for Kentucky sportsbook apps stood out as the good news story, while the overall handle for both months turned out to be the most unflattering part of the reports. Sports betting activity in the Bluegrass State has dropped month over month with every report thus far since an October mobile launch.

However, we can close the book on a very good January for the combined U.S. legal sports wagering scene. Gross gaming revenue for the entirety of the American legal sports betting industry came in at a record $1.47 billion for January, besting the previous record of $1.31 billion set in December.

$465.5 million two-month handle

Kentucky sports betting reported a total of $465.5 million in accepted bets for the two-month period, including January and February—$257.1 million in January and $208.4 million in February.

Both monthly totals represent a dip from the month prior, continuing the consistent trend of month-over-month drops in sports wagering activity in the Bluegrass State since going live with Kentucky sports betting sites in October.

The $257.1 million in January was 2.6% less than the $263.36 million in December, and the $208.4 million in February is a 19% month-over-month drop from January's wagering totals. It is hoped that March Madness, as it has in other jurisdictions, provides a handle spike for Kentucky's best sportsbooks in March. Residents undoubtedly took advantage of Kentucky sportsbook promos during the busiest sports betting time of the year.

Combined $59.7 million in adjusted gross revenue

Kentucky sportsbooks benefitted from $59.7 million in adjusted gross revenue for the January and February combined wagering period. Januar produced $38.2 million in adjusted taxable revenue from the $257.1 million handle while $21.5 million in AGR came from the $208.4 million in bets reported in February.

A high hold rate continues to benefit Kentucky sportsbooks. Only one month has the win rate been below 10%. In January, Kentucky sportsbooks won a sportsbook-friendly 14.9%; in February, state providers held 10.3%.

It all led to $5.4 million in tax contributions from Kentucky sports betting apps to needy Kentucky state and local tax coffers in January, and another $3 million in taxes was added in February.

Kentucky sportsbooks fared well in January

The consistently high hold rate has been a boon for Kentucky sportsbooks since its launch. All but one of the seven Kentucky sports betting apps enjoyed a hold rate of at least 10.9% in January, with FanDuel Kentucky beating out DraftKings Kentucky in the state provider revenue race.

Thanks to an impressive 18% hold in January, FanDuel enjoyed $15.3 million in revenue in the Kentucky market. However, FanDuel came second in terms of monthly handle with $85.3 million.

DraftKings Kentucky accepted the most bets in Kentucky in January with a $92 million handle. But because of a slightly lower but eye-opening 15% win rate, it claimed $13.8 million in winnings.

Caesars Sportsbook Kentucky came in third in January with $21.8 million in accepted wagers and $2.8 million in revenue off of a 13% hold. ESPN BET Kentucky rounded out the top four with $15.9 million in bets and $1.1 million in revenues. It was the only state provider to miss out on a double-digit monthly hold with a win rate of just 6.7%.

bet365 Kentucky was fifth with $14.8 million in accepted bets in January, BetMGM Kentucky was next with $11 million in January wagers, and Fanatics Sportsbook Kentucky was last with about $5 million in accepted wagers in January.

What about February?

February didn't see the betting activity, the revenues, or the combined hold rate seen by Kentucky sportsbooks in January. The hold rate was a combined 10.3% in February. Only three,  DraftKings, FanDuel, and Caesars, managed a double-digit hold.

DraftKings came out on top among Kentucky sports betting apps in the battle for handle and revenues. In February, DraftKings Kentucky reported $78.8 million in bets and $8.3 million in revenues from a 10.6% win rate.

FanDuel Kentucky was next, with $66.1 million in accepted bets and $7.7 million in revenues off of an 11.7% hold. Caesars Sportsbook Kentucky boasted a 12.5% win rate in February, which resulted in $2.1 million in revenues from a $17 million handle.

bet365 Kentucky was next with $13.1 million in February bets, ESPN BET was fifth with just under $10 million in bets, BetMGM came sixth with $9.2 million in February wagers, and Fanatics Sportsbook Kentucky took in $4.4 million in February bets.