Kentucky Online Gambling

Sports betting became legal in Kentucky in March 2023. Lawmakers passed HB 551 on the last day of the legislative session, and Gov. Andy Beshear immediately signed the bill into law. 

The law stipulates sports betting must launch within six months of the bill’s effective date, which is June 28, 2023. That means sports betting almost certainly should arrive before the year’s end. However, Beshear said he would like to see sports betting available for the start of the 2023 NFL season. Retail sportsbooks could open for the start of the season and online sportsbooks launch soon after.

The law allows the state’s racetracks to open in-person sportsbooks. Each location is also allowed three online skins. Regulators and operators are already at work establishing sports betting rules and guidelines, and the approaching deadline should light a fire under everyone involved.

Home to Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby, the Bluegrass State is synonymous with horse racing. In fact, most of Kentucky’s legal gambling options are connected to horse betting in one way or another. Very soon, KY race tracks will be launching retail and online sportsbooks as well.

Several different race tracks throughout KY feature live racing and pari-mutuel wagering. These locations also offer historical horse racing machines, which are slots-like games that use past horse races to determine outcomes.

Be aware also that Kentucky allows online betting on horse races. No matter where you are located in KY, you can visit a site like FanDuel Racing to place wagers on horse races. Another option is a new DraftKings site called DK Horse, launched in Kentucky ahead of the 2023 Kentucky Derby.

There are no legal online casinos in Kentucky, nor are there any retail casinos. Currently, the only gambling facilities are the state’s many racetracks and two standalone historical horse racing venues.

To gamble online, Kentuckians have access to several social and sweepstakes sites, including Pulsz, Chumba Casino, WOW Vegas, LuckyLand Slots, and Funzpoints. These sites largely focus on online slots, though Chumba and WOW Vegas offer a selection of table games as well. The sites use virtual currencies, but in some cases offer chances to redeem winnings for cash prizes. 

In terms of nearby states, Kentuckians located in the northern portion of the state have easier access to casinos than their counterparts in the south. Notably, there are several properties scattered along the Ohio River in Indiana and Ohio between Louisville and Cincinnati.

Those in Kentucky wanting to enter real money daily fantasy sports contests on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel can do so.

KY is like many states that have neither authorized DFS nor prohibited it with any specific law. Kentucky lawmakers did consider adding fantasy sports to the recently passed sports betting bill. However, the DFS component was dropped before the bill was passed.

As a result, DFS technically remains in the same legal limbo found in many other states. That means you can play DFS in Kentucky at any of the several sites that invite KY players to create fantasy lineups and play guaranteed prize pools, cash games, showdown and tiers contests, and more.

As with online casinos, real-money online poker sites are not legal in Kentucky at present. Much like with DFS, the recent discussion of sports betting did for a time consider adding online poker to the bill, but ultimately that idea was dropped. Other online poker-only legislation has been proposed as well, so keep an eye out for the topic to return.

There is a legal option for KY poker players, however, with social and sweepstakes sites. The most popular example is Global Poker, which, like the social and sweepstakes sites offering casino games, uses virtual currencies but offers a chance to redeem winnings for cash.

Global Poker features a variety of ring games and multi-table tournaments. Since it serves most U.S. states, the number of players (and prize pools) can sometimes be large. Look for No-Limit Texas Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha, and even Crazy Pineapple at Global Poker.

While Kentucky is generally less than welcoming to online gambling, the Kentucky Lottery is one of the few state lotteries that allows players to purchase tickets online. Anyone at least 18 years old can purchase lottery tickets online from anywhere in the state, in addition to buying them at many retail locations.

The Kentucky Lottery participates in the big multi-jurisdiction draw games like Mega Millions and PowerBall. It also has many other instant win games and scratchers, including in-state games like Kentucky 5, Fast Play, Keno, and Cash Ball 225. 

Tickets cost anywhere from $1 to $50, and prizes can reach as high as $2.5 million or more (and, of course, even more in the big nationwide games).