Kentucky Sports Betting on Pace for Record Handle

It is shaping up to be a banner year for Kentucky sports betting.

Though betting on horse races has been legal for some time, The Bluegrass State did not launch general wagering services until September 2023. Since then, sports betting in Kentucky has generated both engagement and revenue that has comfortably exceeded expectations. And as it turns out, the 2025 calendar year won’t be any different.

According to the latest data released by the Kentucky and Horse Racing Gaming Commission, which oversees sports betting, The Bluegrass State has already surpassed a $1 billion handle for the 2025 calendar year. For those who may not be familiar, the “handle” is simply the total amount of money wagered in the state. It is not the revenue generated by Kentucky sportsbooks or for the state. So when we say The Bluegrass State has a $1 billion handle, it means that so far, people have placed $1 billion worth of bets since the start of 2025.

If this number raises your eyebrows, well, it absolutely should. Because it puts Kentucky on pace to shatter its previous record handle for an entire year.

Sports Betting Action in The Bluegrass State is Climbing

Perhaps the most notable part about the Kentucky sports betting handle to date is that it’s misleadingly low. The Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Commission has only released data through April 2025. With July basically in the books at this writing, that means the state has another 3 months’ worth of betting yet to be tallied.

Here is Sol Fayerman-Hansen of RG.org with more details on the Kentucky sports betting handle:

“Less than two years since launching legal sports betting, Kentucky has quietly crossed a major milestone: over $1 billion wagered in just four months of 2025. What’s more impressive is how this new industry is becoming a dependable source of tax revenue, feeding the state’s pension system and funding responsible gambling programs with precision. In April alone, Kentuckians placed $219.76 million in bets, yielding $23.71 million in revenue for sportsbooks and $3.36 million in taxes for the state. April’s performance further confirms what lawmakers had hoped for when Kentucky entered the regulated betting space in 2023: a high-engagement activity that supports long-term public funds without requiring constant legislative attention. Handle, revenue, and taxes are all trending upward. This growth pattern shows that sports betting in Kentucky is no longer in its early stages, it’s part of the state’s ongoing financial ecosystem.”

With April’s returns in the books, the Kentucky sports betting handle has now cleared $200 million in each of the year’s first four months. By comparison, they usurped the $200 million threshold in five total months. The state will almost certainly match that per-month mark by the time May, June and July numbers get finalized. Heck, at this rate, they might even beat it.

Kentucky Sports Betting Could Clear a $3 Billion Handle in 2025

Of course, the biggest story might be how much money The Bluegrass State winds up accepting for the entire year. As of now, they are at $1.014 billion through four months. If they maintain that average for the whole calendar, the Kentucky sports betting handle for 2025 could creep past the $3 billion mark.

In case you’re wondering: This is not something experts predicted happening by the third (partial) year of operations. Many did not even project the Kentucky sports betting handle hitting the $2 billion milestone by this point. The state jumped that mark last year.

What’s more, this project might even undersell how much Kentuckians end up betting in 2025. Sure, two of the biggest-volume months are already in the books. January and March tend to enjoy massively inflated handles. You can thank betting on the NFL playoffs and Super Bowl (January) as well as betting on March Madness (March) for that kind of bump.

Still, Kentucky has a few growth possibilities in front of it. For starters, a new state of the art sportsbook just opened up, courtesy of Circa Sports. Retail sports betting accounts for only a small fraction of the state’s handle, but this location is the biggest sportsbook in all of Kentucky. It is going to become a destination for sports betting enthusiasts.

Kentucky Will Inevitably Enjoy an NFL Betting Boom

Beyond that, betting on the 2025 NFL regular season will reach a fever pitch in August and September. The Kentucky sports betting handle should also receive a boost in December, which is when betting on the NFL playoffs begins its crescendo. Not surprisingly, December 2024 was the second-busiest month for Kentucky last year. The state accepted over $285 million worth of bets, trailing only November’s returns of $301 million.

Right now, Kentucky is averaging about $250 million in total bets per month. Even if December 2025 doesn’t enjoy year-over-year growth compared to December 2024, merely matching it stands to outstrip the current pace.

Experts, of course, will expect December 2025 to outperform December 2024. As they should. Just look at what happened last year. The $285 million in bets outperformed December 2023 by an additional $21.7 million. That amounts to a year-over-year increase of 8 percent. And it stands to reason there will be an even bigger increase in 2025. Not only is online sports betting in the United States more popular than ever, but NFL betting lines are showcasing more parity than they have in recent years. For so long, the Kansas City Chiefs have loomed as the no-brainer odds-on favorites. Most Kentucky online sportsbooks now have them hanging around the fourth or fifth spot.

This type of parity lends itself to more action. And more action serves to bum up the state’s sports betting handle even further. Not that Kentucky needs it. Because as we just established, The Bluegrass State is headed for a record year of wagering even if nothing from here on changes.

Take a look at this list of the top online sportsbooks so you can find one that works for all of your sports betting needs: