The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission reported $15.4 million in gross sports betting revenue for July on Thursday, with the state's seven retail sportsbooks and eight mobile operators combining for a hold just shy of 12%.
It was the fourth consecutive month the statewide win rate reached double digits and the eighth time in 10 full months of betting. The 11.9% hold for July was just off the 12% all-time mark.
Handle totaled $129.3 million, down 14% from June, as Kentuckians continued their first full year with legal commercial wagering available. There has been more than $2.26 billion wagered in the first 11 months since retail books accepted their first wagers on Sep. 7 and mobile counterparts did likewise three weeks later.
Revenue was down only 2.1% from June, as July's hold was nearly 1.5 percentage points higher. That allowed the state to collect $2.1 million in tax receipts, lifting the year-to-date total to $21.9 million.
FanDuel Continues to Shine in Bluegrass State
FanDuel's mobile sportsbook accounted for 40% of overall gross operator revenue in July, as the digital juggernaut reaped $6.2 million from $41.2 million handle. It was the fourth consecutive month FanDuel notched a 14% or higher win rate, as it surpassed $100 million in winnings since launch.
DraftKings retained the top spot for handle, accepting close to $48 million worth of wagers, and also had a solid July as a 12.2% win rate resulted in almost $5.9 million in revenue. It was the third time in 2024 that DraftKings eclipsed a 12% hold in Kentucky.
Bet365 rounded out the group of operators with seven-figure revenue hauls, claiming nearly $1.3 million from $14.8 million handle. The 8.5% hold for the England-based outfit was slightly better than its year-to-date mark, as it surpassed $1 million in winnings for the third consecutive month.
Fanatics Sportsbook edged out BetMGM for the final spot in the top half of revenue among mobile sportsbooks, attaining a 10.3% hold in winning $441,900 from $4.4 million in handle. It was the first time Fanatics posted a double-digit hold since landing at 11.3% in January. BetMGM was fourth in handle at $6.5 million, but a 6.4% win rate meant it claimed $405,700 in revenue.
Caesars placed sixth in revenue with $393,700, crafting a 6.6% hold from almost $6 million in bets placed. ESPN BET took the second-to-last spot for both handle and revenue, as its $364,400 in winnings from $3.6 million handle created a 10% hold.
Circa Sports saw another incremental gain in handle in its third month in the Bluegrass State to $852,000. The Las Vegas-based outfit had a much better July than June, as revenue increased more than six-fold to $77,500 on the strength of a 9.1% win rate.
Brick-and-Mortar Sportsbooks Also Have Solid July
Kentucky's seven retail sportsbooks started the second half of 2024 on the front foot with an 11.2% hold that resulted in $436,300 in gross winnings from $3.9 million handle. Churchill Downs provided the biggest chunk of that revenue total with $156,900, as the Kambi-powered book had a 10.8% hold against $1.5 million worth of accepted bets.
Turfway Park, whose book is run by FanDuel, had the other six-figure revenue total in July with $120,100, thanks to a 17% hold on $706,300 in handle. Red Mile had a 42.2% surge in handle from June to more than $1.1 million in July, but bettors kept the Caesars Sportsbook in check with a 6.7% hold, as revenue declined 13.4% to $74,000.
