Kentucky's Sports Betting Handle Stays High, Revenue Drops In December
Kentucky ended 2024 with an 11% year-over-year increase in sports betting action.
The Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation reported that $293 million was bet in December 2024, the second-highest handle behind November 2024's $301.7 million. This marked the fourth successive month with action surpassing $250 million.
However, the lowest hold on gross profits produced yet in the Bluegrass State caused just $20.2 million in revenue, a 38% decline from December 2023 and down nearly 45% month-over-month.
Similar to October, when Kentucky's online and retail operators produced a 7.7% hold, NFL favorites had great success in the final full month of the routine season. Bettors cashed in, leading to a 6.9% hang on gross revenue that was down five points from November.
The of $19.5 million began a 6.7% hold, also the most affordable ever in Kentucky.
The Bluegrass State transported in $2.9 million in tax profits, down from the $5 million gotten in November.
Exceeding forecasts
Kentucky's very first complete year of sports wagering produced $2.6 billion in wagers and $283.7 million in gross revenue from a 10.7% hold. Adjusted earnings reached $276.9 million behind a double-digit win rate.
When sports wagering first began in the Bluegrass State in 2023, authorities projected $23 million in annual tax profits. In 2024 alone, the state collected $39.3 million. Kentucky has actually filled its coffers with almost $55 million in 15 months of operation.
DraftKings nearly creates $1 billion
Legal online sports wagering produced $285.5 million in wagers and $20.3 million in gross income throughout December.
DraftKings almost matched its record-setting November with a December handle of $111.7 million, down about $700,000 from the previous month. Gross earnings fell from $15 million to $8.7 million month-over-month.
The online sportsbook completed 2024 with the highest deal with, falling less than $2 million shy of $1 billion in the quantity wagered for the year.
FanDuel generated a greater profit margin in December, receiving $9.1 million of gross revenue on a $95.4 million manage. FanDuel's 9.5% hold was the highest amongst all eight online operators, and the online sportsbook ended up second in yearly handle with $862 million in 2024.
No other sportsbook reached $1 million in earnings during December. bet365 completed third with a $23.9 million manage while BetMGM, Caesars, and Fanatics Sportsbook all reached $13 million.
Circa Sports lost over $800,000 on a handle of $6.8 million to end at a loss for 2024. On $6.7 million in wagers, ESPN BET generated a 3.2% hold in December but still benefited $7.2 million for the year.
Retail falters again
Brick-and-mortar sportsbooks took an almost $52,000 loss on a $7.6 million handle in December. Adjusted income finished $70,000 in the red.
It's the 2nd time in 3 months that retail sports wagering operators took a loss. In October, three of the 8 shops reported adjusted revenue numbers in the red.