Kentucky Reports Huge 1st Day of Mobile Sports Betting

Dave Bonderoff

Last Updated: October 3, 2023 11:53 AM EDT • 2 min 28 sec read. Twitter link Google News Link

Wildcat, the mascot of the Kentucky Wildcats pumps up the crowd as we look into the results from Day 1 of mobile sports betting in Kentucky. — Wildcat, the mascot of the Kentucky Wildcats pumps up the crowd in the second half against the Vanderbilt Commodores at FirstBank Stadium on September 23, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo by Carly Mackler/Getty Images via AFP.

All questions and concerns about the viability of Kentucky sports betting apps were answered late last week by data released by GeoComply, "the global leader in geolocation and compliance technology."

Mobile sports betting in Kentucky went live Thursday, Sept. 28, just in time to take advantage of the start of NFL Week 4. Judging by geolocation transactions that took place over the first day of operation, the mobile sports betting scene in the Bluegrass State could be one to watch.

What the geolocation numbers revealed

The GeoComply data confirmed what many felt about the impending Kentucky mobile sports betting industry — that it would see brisk betting action and that Kentuckians would support a long-awaited internet-based sports wagering platform.

GeoComply, the Vancouver-based solutions company, tracked an astounding 2.020 million geolocation checks on the first 24 hours of legal mobile sports betting in Kentucky on Thursday. The wagering action came from almost 200,000 mobile sports betting accounts that were active on Day 1, through pre-registration or from same-day sign-ups.

How the stats were compiled

Seven of the eight licensed sportsbooks went live on Thursday and saw brisk action right from the outset. The geolocation tracks came from those seven providers. Only Circa Sportsbook which itself gained a licensing opportunity in the state failed to launch on Day 1. The seven best Kentucky sports betting apps included:

GeoComply's tracking and final stats for the first 24 hours of legal mobile in Kentucky came from customers of Kentucky sports betting apps:

Registering a Kentucky sports betting apps account
Logging in to a Kentucky sportsbook
Logging back in
Placing a bet with a Kentucky sports betting app

Building on a strong retail start

Kentucky sports betting officially kicked off on Sept. 7 with retail sports betting reporting strong numbers for its first two weeks. Kentucky became the 35th state, along with the District of Columbia, to allow for legal sports wagering on that date.

According to figures released by regulators in Kentucky, over $4.5 million in wagers was placed with the state's retail providers in its first two weeks of action.

At the time of release of the retail figures, Gov. Andy Beshear went on record saying that: “With college football and the NFL season underway, plus the launch of mobile wagering, we expect that number will grow significantly. This is a strong number that certainly reflects the excitement Kentuckians have for the opening of sports wagering.”

The numbers outpaced the initial wagering activity in such betting markets as Arizona and Kansas. Kentucky nearly doubled the retail action in a comparable population state, Louisiana, after its first 24 hours of mobile sports betting operation.

Looking ahead

The Kentucky legal sports betting industry will continue to grow, just as Governor Beshear predicted, buoyed by strong Kentucky sportsbook promos for new users. As of now, just eight of a possible 27 licenses have been awarded. Only seven of the best sportsbooks have officially gone live.

Look for each of Kentucky’s nine licensed horse racing tracks to ramp up their search for Kentucky sports betting app partners in the next few months and for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to continue their work filling out the Bluegrass State sports wagering scene. Each track is allotted 3 “skins”.

Eventually, legal sports betting sites will provide a boon for needy state and local tax coffers in the state. A figure of $23 million has been tossed around as the tax infusion that a mature and full legal sports betting industry in the Bluegrass State will provide.

"Sports wagering has already been a big hit in the commonwealth, with more than $4.5 million already bet, and that means that those dollars stay here in Kentucky," Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday. "Everybody enjoy, do it responsibly, but know that this is a win-win for Team Kentucky, as these dollars will help our people."

Written By:
Dave Bonderoff

Dave Bonderoff and betting go hand-in-hand. Both are characterized by "odds". Dave fancies himself as one of the most dedicated sports and pop-culture junkies around, to the chagrin of his family and friends. Following sports for 50 years and writing about it for 20, Dave hasn't found a sport yet that can't contribute to 2-3 straight hours of couch time. That search remains ongoing. As a good old Canadian boy, hockey is in Dave’s heart, as is curling sadly. But evolution is a real thing and that’s why football, baseball, and just about every sport on the planet has become a passion. Dave isn’t afraid to kill some time obsessing over politics or the far-too-frequent awards shows the consume the airwaves.