Kentucky Sports Betting Age Could Be Raised From 18 to 21
Posted on: March 9, 2026, 12:52h.
Last updated on: March 9, 2026, 12:52h.
- Kentucky lawmakers are considering raising the sports betting age
- Currently, anyone aged 18 and up can bet legally on sports in Kentucky
- Most states require sports bettors to be 21 or older
Kentucky is in the minority of the 39 states that have legal sports betting in that the Bluegrass State allows anyone aged 18 and up to participate. That could soon change, should proposed legislation find favor.
House Bill 904 recommends a slew of changes to Kentucky’s legal gaming industry. Introduced by Reps. Michael Meredith (R-Edmonson) and Matthew Koch (R-Bourbon), the statute suggests that the legal gaming age to bet on sports and participate in fantasy sports contests be raised from 18 to 21.
Kentucky is one of only five states where the minimum sports betting age is 18. The others are Montana, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Wyoming. Washington, DC, also grants 18-year-olds sports gambling access.
Kentucky is home to both retail and online sports betting. Such gambling is governed by the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation. Since the market began in September 2023, Kentucky sportsbooks have taken almost $7 billion in bets and kept $724.7 million of the wagers.
Limiting Sports Gambling Harms
Responsible gaming advocates say exposing teenagers to addictive gambling products like sports betting leads to heightened rates of gambling disorders and addiction.
Research consistently shows that young people are at greater risk of developing gambling problems due to cognitive immaturities and a limited ability to adequately assess risk,” Cole Wogoman, the director of government relations at the National Council on Problem Gambling, told Casino.org last month.
“That’s why the vast majority of states set the legal gambling age at 21 for sports betting and casino access,” Wogoman explained.
The proliferation of sports betting since 2018 has led to more gambling problems, addiction specialists say. Sports bettors lost almost $17 billion last year to legal sportsbooks. Many billions more were lost to offshore, unregulated sportsbooks and local bookies.
Along with raising the minimum age to bet, HB904 seeks to prohibit sportsbooks from offering prop bets on an individual player’s performance. Such bets have been linked to player harassment on both the professional and collegiate levels. Player prop bets have also been connected to match fixing.
Louisiana, Maryland, Ohio, and Vermont all restrict their regulated sportsbooks from offering player props. The NCAA continues to urge state gambling regulators to adjust their rules to exclude such wagers.
Fixed-Odds Betting
HB904 additionally seeks to authorize fixed-odds wagering in Kentucky. Fixed-odds wagering is a form of betting where the payout is set at the time of the wager. That’s unlike traditional parimutuel wagering, where horse racing odds and associated payouts fluctuate based on the pool until the starting gate.
HB904 would tax revenue from fixed-odds betting terminals at 15%, with the bulk of the revenue allocated for a new “Purse Stabilization Fund.” The fund would be used to support live track racing purses.
Fixed-odds betting provides certainty and ensures payouts, regardless of later fluctuations in the odds.
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