Kentucky lawmakers have passed HB 904, the Wagering Consumer Protection Act, and sent the bill to Gov. Andy Beshear, teeing up a major shake-up of the state’s sports betting, fantasy contest, and horse racing markets.
One of the bill’s biggest changes would raise the minimum age for sports betting to 21 while setting the minimum age for fantasy contests at 18.
The bill would also expand the state’s regulatory framework, while taking direct aim at prediction markets. Under the bill, an “event contract” is defined as a transaction tied to the outcome of a future event, while a “prediction market” is a platform where consumers can trade on those outcomes.
Those definitions come with a restriction that would bar Kentucky-licensed tracks, fantasy operators, and their affiliates from participating in or contracting with platforms that offer event contracts in the commonwealth.
The measure also adds new rules for fixed-odds wagering on live horse racing, creates a licensing structure for fantasy contest providers, and strengthens responsible gaming provisions, including requiring the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation to establish a self-exclusion list for problem gamblers.
The bill would further cement Kentucky’s horse racing regulator as the state’s central gaming watchdog. It gives the corporation more authority over sports wagering, fantasy contests, and fixed-odds wagering, while requiring new regulations on licensing, geolocation, integrity monitoring, audits, and enforcement.
Governor Beshear is expected to sign the measure into law, completing a multi-year effort to refine Kentucky’s wagering statutes.
Fixed-Odds Wagering, Fantasy Contests, and New Requirements
Among all the changes HB 904 makes to Kentucky gaming law, it adds new rules for fixed-odds wagering on live horse racing. Under the bill, if a fixed-odds wager is placed at a licensed track, it would be taxed at 9.75%, while online wagers would be taxed at 14.25%, with the revenue going to a new purse stabilization fund.
The measure also sets a mandatory minimum bet limit of at least $1,000 per race, with the betting menu determined by the host track.
For sports betting, the bill would ban certain prop bets on individual athletes from Kentucky college teams when the winning outcome depends on a player failing to meet a statistical threshold or posting a negative performance.
Another measure in the bill is a child support enforcement provision for online gaming accounts. The bill requires operators to check applicants against a child support registry, deny account creation to people on that list, and suspend existing accounts if they are later flagged.
Fantasy Contests, Integrity Rules, and Other Changes
The bill also rewrites several other parts of Kentucky’s gaming law. It does so by establishing a comprehensive licensing and compliance regime for fantasy contest operators, including geolocation requirements, criminal background checks, annual compliance reviews, anti-fraud safeguards, and self-exclusion measures.
To strengthen integrity protections, the bill also requires fantasy contest operators to work with regulators and law enforcement on investigations involving suspicious conduct tied to underlying sporting events, including match-fixing and other illegal activity.
