That’s a huge leap from their opening weekend $45.8 million handle, but there is a long way to go before catching rival state Ohio. Buckeye State bettors wagered over $1 billion during its opening month, and they didn’t have half the number of NFL games as Kentucky.
Still, Kentucky sportsbooks did claim $57.3 million in Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR), and the state collected $7.6 million on a 15% tax rate that is supposed to benefit the Kentucky Pension Fund.
FanDuel, DraftKings, and Everyone Else
FanDuel Kentucky and DraftKings have already distanced themselves from the other five bookies, and it appears they’ll be the top two destinations for Kentuckians.
FanDuel led the state with a $116 million handle, edging out DraftKings KY ($109.4 million). The longtime rivals were the only Kentucky bookies to accept $100+ million. bet365 was third with $28.5 million, followed by Caesars ($12.8 million), BetMGM ($12.7 million), Fanatics ($4.6 million), and Penn Sports (Barstool) handled $2.6 million in October wagers.
Promotions are the Reason for the Revenue
The reason that FanDuel and DraftKings rule every state they are in isn’t because they are great bookmakers, because they aren’t. They rule the country because of promotions and outspend every other bookmaker in every state they are licensed in.
|
Bookmaker |
Promotions |
AGR |
|---|---|---|
|
FanDuel |
$26,995,654.23 |
$20,162,256.65 |
|
DraftKings |
$23,047,579.51 |
$19,262,461.80 |
|
bet365 |
$16,540,564.00 |
$7,916,602.00 |
|
BetMGM |
$2,789,866.36 |
$2,375,301.27 |
|
Caesars |
$2,341,804.62 |
$2151478,31 |
|
Fanatics |
$733,156.82 |
$487,344.48 |
|
Penn Sports (Barstool) |
$39,920.97 |
$375,861.20 |
There is nothing more appealing to a new bettor than free money, and FanDuel, DraftKings, and bet365 pass out betting bonuses in Kentucky like candy at a carnival.
Hold Rates
Hold rate or win rate is what the bookmaker has left after they settle the wagers. Kentucky bookmakers reported an 18.2% hold rate. Kentucky hasn’t published the handle per sport or market yet, but it’s safe to say parlays are the reason for that whopping win rate.
Pumping parlays, correlating or same-game parlays, and gimmicky premade parlays to their customers is why the “Big Three” can afford to give out so much money. Let’s look at the table above, but we’ll add the hold rate.
|
Bookmaker |
Promotions |
Hold % |
AGR |
|---|---|---|---|
|
FanDuel |
$26,995,654.23 |
17.38% |
$20,162,256.65 |
|
DraftKings |
$23,047,579.51 |
15.59% |
$19,262,461.80 |
|
bet365 |
$16,540,564.00 |
27.68% |
$7,916,602.00 |
|
BetMGM |
$2,789,866.36 |
18.57% |
$2,375,301.27 |
|
Caesars |
$2,341,804.62 |
16.70% |
$2,151478,31 |
|
Fanatics |
$733,156.82 |
11.16% |
$4,87,344.48 |
|
Penn Sports |
$39,920.97 |
14.10% |
$3, 75,861.20 |
Again, we don’t have the individual handle reports per sport, but these high hold rates occur in every state, and it’s safe to assume these bookmakers would be in financial trouble if not for the parlay cards.
What’s Ahead for Kentucky
The November figures should be interesting as ESPN Bet replaces Penn Sports (Barstool), and they’ve been passing out promotions like Tic Tacs at a junior high dance.
We should expect ESPN Bet to lead the state in promotions, and they could lead the state in November’s handle and revenue because of their newness nationally and their ability to promote their betting business on ESPN.
Circa Sports and Prime Sports are supposed to enter the scene sometime later this year or early next year. Those two companies are considered “sharp books, ” meaning they won’t offer any promotions or welcome bonuses. Instead, they allow gamblers to wager on set limits that won’t change depending on the gamblers’ success rate. It will be interesting to see how Kentuckians react to a sportsbook without bonuses, free bets, or same-game parlays.
