We got closer than ever to the legalization of sports betting in Kentucky in 2022. State Representative Adam Koenig could not get his bill passed by the end of the legislative session. Though the bill had the support of the Senate Majority leader, it did not come to a final vote.
In the meantime, sports bettors in Kentucky can access great sportsbooks that are licensed offshore. Check them out and get the latest news on Kentucky gambling news. You can also check out the legal sports betting situation across the United States.
Kentucky Sports Betting – Recent Updates
- April 14, 2022: The last day of the legislative session saw the official end of the possibility to make sports betting legal in Kentucky
- April 13, 2022: Representative Adam Koenig’s HB 606 which would make it legal to gamble on sports in Kentucky has the support of Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer.
- March 18, 2022: The House passes HB 606 with large margins of support (58-30), which would legalize mobile and retail sports betting in the Bluegrass State. It is now sent to the Senate.
- February 28, 2022: Koening announces plans to introduce a bill that would make Kentucky sports betting legal. He has done so for four straight years.
Top 5 Kentucky Sportsbooks
Whatever happens with the legalization of sports betting in Kentucky, bettors in Kentucky can use these great sportsbooks that are licensed offshore. They avoid the tax burden of local sportsbooks, and are therefore able to offer even better deals. Here are our top 5 Kentucky sportsbooks.
Bovada
Bovada is the king of sportsbooks. They are the most used sportsbook in Kentucky, and this is likely because of their great sports betting markets and hot odds.
BetOnline
BetOnliner has an enormous amount of rotating promotions. You can really have a great time all year round as they are always coming up with something new.
BetUS
BetUS has a huge welcome bonus. They will give you a 125% match on your initial deposit, worth up to $2,500.
MyBookie
MyBookie really stands out for being easy to use. Their customer service and website design are truly top-notch!
XBet
XBet has a great mobile betting platform. You do not need to download an XBet app for this one, as you can just access the website via your mobile device and it will automatically adjust.
Four Reasons to Bet on These Kentucky Online Betting Sites
These offshore sportsbooks are great options for bettors in Kentucky. While Kentucky is not yet licensing sportsbook, gambling is legal in Kentucky in the sense that from Kentuycky you can access offshore sportsbooks online.
But we do not recommend just any sportsbook. We take a hard look at what each one offers and make sure to only use the best ones.
Available to Kentucky Bettors
We do our due diligence and make sure that these top Kentucky sportsbooks are available to bettors in the state. With these sportsbooks, you can gamble online in Kentucky without a problem.
Great Promotions
Great sportsbooks will have rotating promotions. In addition to a juicy welcome bonus, we also like to see promotions that correspond to the biggest sporting events of the year. Keep an eye out, especially for March Madness betting.
High-Quality Customer Service
We want customer service representatives to be available, friendly, and helpful. Basically, we want them to be able to solve our problems with a smile. The most common ways to contact the customer support team are:
- Live chat
- Phone number
- FAQs
Racebook Quality
Being the home of the world’s most important horse race, we make sure that these sportsbooks offer great Kentucky Derby bets. A great racebook will have odds up early, have specials for big races, and hopefully a weekly racebook rebate as well.
Casinos in Kentucky
There are eleven casinos operating in Kentucky. They are mainly racetracks that also have slot machines. Most of the bills to legalize sports betting would also allow racetracks to be licensed and add casino gaming to their repertoire.
However, for now, there are no traditional retail casinos in the state of Kentucky.
Kentucky Sports Betting Timeline
Kentucky has struggled for years to get licenses for sportsbooks off the ground. In fact, this fight even started before the Supreme Court made it possible to do so without violating federal law in 2018. But after that, things really took off!
We could go back even further if we were to include other types of betting. Kentucky opened up its state lottery in 1989 after voters overwhelmingly approved it. But the main focus of this timeline is the effort to bring legal sports betting to Kentucky.
Here are the main events over the last few years:
2022
2022 marks the fourth consecutive year that representative Adam Koenig introduced a sports betting bill in Kentucky. As usual, the bill had no problem in Koenig’s committee. This year, there was no in-person registration requirement included in the bill.
This marks the first year that the bill cleared one of the two chambers. It has not cleared the Senate, however.
2021
In January, Governor Andy Beshear expressed his support for the legalization of sports betting in his speech “First Year Reflections.” Shortly thereafter, three bills were submitted in the KY House of Representatives. However, none of them make it out of committee.
2020
In his annual State of the Commonwealth address, Governor Andy Beshear announced his full support for Representative Adam Koening’s bill to legalize sports betting in KY,.
The very next day, Koening passed H137 through his committee. Despite support from the Senate Majority Leader and the Governor, the bill did not even pass the House.
2019
Koening’s bill was the favorite among the four bills to legalize sports betting. It also passed a committee vote successfully. This bill would have legalized sports betting, fantasy sports, and online poker. Because this was a non-budget year, all bills needed 60% of the votes, and this did not happen in 2019.
2018
Just a month after the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, KY launched a panel to study the potential impact of sports betting in the state.
2017
Senator Julian Carroll submitted a sports betting bill which would have allowed for the regulation and oversight of a sports gambling industry.
