The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission will meet Monday, July 10, to review and likely finalize Kentucky sports betting regulations, the commission announced in a release Thursday morning.
Once the regulations are approved, operators can begin applying for licenses.
The meeting will take place at the Red Mile in Lexington at 12:15 p.m. ET. It’s notable the meeting is happening at this specific racetrack, as Caesars Sportsbook has already secured a partnership with Red Mile for retail and online sports betting.
The KHRC last met on June 20. At that meeting, Chairman Jonathan Rabinowitz said the commission planned to have a “special meeting” in early July to vote on sports wagering regulations. He also said the commission would post a draft of those regulations on its website, khrc.ky.gov.
A KHRC official informed PlayKentucky those regulations would be posted online after they’re approved on July 10.
Why having this meeting soon is important
Kentucky regulators, lawmakers and its governor, Andy Beshear, are in a hurry to get Kentucky sports betting up and running as quickly as possible. NFL betting is by far the most popular sports gambling market, so Beshear has been very vocal about his states sportsbooks launching by the start of the season on Sept. 7.
So far, he has — publicly, at least — expressed confidence that goal can be met.
“I am thrilled at the speed at which sports betting is moving to become operational here in Kentucky,” Beshear said at a recent press conference. ” … We set a very aggressive goal to have it up and running before the first game of the NFL season and I believe we’re on track to do that.”
That two-month turnaround — from July 10 to Sept. 7 — would be remarkably quick, but not impossible. Chatter around the industry suggests Kentucky may launch sports betting at brick-and-mortar sportsbooks by NFL season and get things live for online sports betting soon after.
Which apps will apply for licenses?
So far, Caesars Sportsbook (via Keeneland and Red Mile) and FanDuel (via Churchill Downs) are the only two operators to have publicly confirmed partnerships that secure them places in the Kentucky sports betting market. There can be up to 30 online sportsbooks in Kentucky, and we at least know Caesars Kentucky and FanDuel Kentucky will be two of them.
However, once regulations are approved and license applications begin, more sports betting partnerships will be announced.
Other apps we’re likely to see in the Bluegrass State include BetMGM Kentucky, Bet365 Kentucky and DraftKings Kentucky.
