The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission met with representatives from BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel, WynnBET and Circa Sports to help in the development of sports betting regulations.
That’s according to KHRC Executive Director Jamie Eads, who spoke to the Kentucky Interim Joint Committee Appropriations and Revenue on Wednesday. She said the KHRC also corresponded with the Sports Betting Alliance, which represents BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel and Fanatics Sportsbook.
So far, of that group of potential Kentucky sportsbooks, only FanDuel has confirmed it will launch in Kentucky via a partnership with Churchill Downs.
Significance of Eads listing these sportsbooks
If it wasn’t a 100% certainty before, Eads’ comment Wednesday all but confirms BetMGM Kentucky and DraftKings Kentucky will also go live when the industry launches in September.
Fanatics Sportsbook has not responded to two requests for comment regarding its Kentucky plans.
Representatives from WynnBET have twice informed PlayKentucky they had no information to share regarding the sportsbook’s plans for Kentucky. A representative from Circa Sports, meanwhile, has twice informed PlayKentucky the sportsbook is “exploring every opportunity” when asked about a future Kentucky launch.
Earlier this week, DraftKings told PlayKentucky it was “still pulling our plans together” for its Kentucky partnership.
Sandy’s, CDI partnerships in the mix
DraftKings has an existing relationship with Churchill Downs Inc. via its horse betting app, DK Horse. And we know CDI is partnering with multiple operators in Kentucky, not just FanDuel. Perhaps that suggests DraftKings will wind up partnering with CDI to secure its spot in Kentucky.
Or, perhaps it goes a different route and partners with Sandy’s Racing & Gaming in Ashland. John Marshall, President and COO of Revolutionary Racing, which owns Sandy’s, told PlayKentucky last week that they had selected their desired sportsbook partner and were in final negotiations, and that the partner is “a big name you would recognize.”
In June, Conor Lucas, the VP of government affairs for Revolutionary Racing, told PlayKentucky they were hoping to sign a deal with one of “the big four” sportsbooks — meaning DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM and Caesars.
Caesars Sportsbook Kentucky is already partnered with Keeneland and Red Mile.
So … does that mean Sandy’s will either sign a deal with DraftKings or BetMGM?
Time will tell.
The last PlayKentucky heard from Sandy’s, a spokesperson said the company should have news within the next two weeks.
