Kentucky Sports Betting Age Will Likely Increase From 18 to 21, Bill Seeks Prediction Markets Tax

Posted on: April 7, 2026, 09:57h. 

Last updated on: April 7, 2026, 09:57h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.
  • Sports betting in Kentucky is expected to soon become 21+
  • Fixed-odds wagering on live horse racing is also likely
  • DraftKings and FanDuel dominate the Kentucky sports betting market

Big changes are presumably coming to Kentucky’s sports betting market after state lawmakers forwarded House Bill 904 to Gov. Andy Beshear’s (D) desk.

Kentucky sports betting horse racing
Elegant hats and fancy attire are pictured at a horse race in Kentucky. Substantial changes are likely coming to Kentucky’s sports betting and horse wagering markets. (Image: Shutterstock)

HB904, dubbed the Wagering Consumer Protection Act, seeks to overhaul how sports betting in the Bluegrass State works.

Among the most critical components is that Kentucky would fall in line with the majority of other legal sports betting states in limiting participation to those aged 21 and older. Kentucky was an outlier in allowing 18+ to place in-person and online sports wagers.

Prop bets involving college athletes, wagers that are solely dependent on a single player’s performance, would also be made illegal should Beashear allow HB904 to become law.

While raising the minimum age to bet and eliminating college props will cause revenue losses for the sportsbooks, the dominant players, namely DraftKings and FanDuel, secured a major win by lobbying lawmakers to remove a condition of HB904 that sought to require sportsbooks to take bets up to $1,000 on most lines. That amendment was designed to prevent oddsmakers from limiting bettors, something many prolific bettors have complained about in various sports gambling jurisdictions, including in Kentucky.

DraftKings and FanDuel Can Maintain Prediction Markets

Another component of HB904 that was trashed during the politicking threatened DraftKings and FanDuel’s sports betting licenses. An earlier version of the statute said that Kentucky sportsbooks would be barred from additionally running a federally regulated prediction market.

DraftKings and FanDuel both run prediction markets across most of the country. Since the online gaming leaders would not have folded on their prediction markets businesses simply to continue operating online sports betting in Kentucky, the provision threatened their future sports betting involvement in the state.

A separate bill, House Bill 757, also delivered to the governor, suggests imposing a 14.25% tax on the transaction fees collected by prediction markets in Kentucky. That is the same tax rate facing online sportsbooks.

In the state’s 2025 fiscal year, Kentucky’s eight OSBs took more than $2.72 billion in bets and kept $284.7 million of the wagers. DraftKings, with approximate gross revenue of $115.3 million, and FanDuel, with $111.7 million, accounted for the bulk of the action.

Fixed-Odds Horse Betting

Kentucky is the epicenter of the US horse racing industry, with Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby. HB904 recommends that fixed-odds betting on horse racing be introduced.

Unlike parimutuel wagering, where a bet’s odds fluctuate until the starting gate based on the pool, fixed-odds wagering allows bettors to bet against the track, similar to sports betting. Fixed-odds provides bettors with certainty and payout guarantees that aren’t impacted by later action.

HB904 suggests the state impose a 15% tax on gross revenue from fixed-odds wagering on live horse racing. Many tracks say fixed-odds modernize horse racing and better appeal to younger, sports-savvy bettors who wish to lock in odds.