Churchill Downs Shuts Down Kentucky Live Sports Betting SiteMobile Sports Betting Explodes In The Bluegrass State |
|
Visitors to Kentucky’s Churchill Downs will now have to stick to betting on the horses after the famed horse track announced recently that the property would no longer be accepting sports bets.
The Bluegrass State legalized wagering on sports in March 2023 with live and online betting following in June of the same year. The legislation allowed Kentucky’s nine racetracks to partner with online operators and also open retail venues on site that offer more than just horse race betting.
Online betting has become so popular, however, that Churchill management decided that a brick-and-mortar sportsbook at the track wasn’t paying dividends for the company.
“With 98% of sports betting made on mobile forms such platforms such as FanDuel, there simply isn’t a profitable path forward for us to sustain profitability as a retail operator,” Churchill Director of Operations Darren Rogers said. “We’re going to focus our time and resources elsewhere.”
Kentucky saw a total handle of more than $2.6 billion in 2024, the first full year of sports betting, according to state regulators. That led to revenue of $271.7 million for betting operators and $38.6 million in taxes for the state.
Legislators are also now looking at legalizing live casinos and fantasy sports. A casino would only be allowed in counties with more than 30,000 residents and would require a petition of 25% of voters in the county. Counties with smaller populations would be allowed to partner with neighboring counties, and those with already established horse tracks could add slot machines regardless of population, but voters would still get to decide the issue.
Casino revenue would be taxed at 21% and properties would be required to charge $3 for each person admitted.
The Churchill Downs track is located in Louisville and home to the Kentucky Derby, which has run each year since 1875. In 2024, Churchill reported $446 million bet on the race from all sources, topping the previous record of $412 million.
Beyond the betting numbers, this year’s Derby also scored well with television viewers, producing the highest ratings since 1989. The amount bet on the race no doubt had something to do with that. The race was seen by 16.7 million viewers, a 13% increase from the previous year.
Churchill also owns two Derby City Gaming venues in the area that offer historical horse racing slot-like games and those facilities will still offer live sports betting.
Bettors can no longer wager at the track, but winning tickets can still be redeemed over the next few weeks.
The state has also been more amenable to poker recently and Chris Moneymaker opened a Louisville cardroom in June.
Copyright © 2001-2025
CardPlayer.com. All rights reserved.
