This time next week, bettors in Kentucky will be lining up at retail locations and placing wagers. After Thursday’s first-ever meeting of the Sports Wagering Advisory Council (SWAC), there is now an approved catalog of events for that wagering.
During the relatively brief meeting, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission’s Director of Sports Betting Hans Stokke advised that the robust catalog was largely based on what other states have done in the past. Moreover, this list is set for retail sports betting but there should be updates by the end of September before the launch of online sports betting.
There are some notable omissions and additions to the catalog dictated by the laws and regulations surrounding sports betting. Notable omissions include:
Prop betting on college athletes
Betting on non-sporting events like awards ceremonies
Fixed-odds betting on dog or horse racing
What is included is esports betting, which was specifically included as part of the law. The rest of the catalog is a fairly standard list of sports that notably includes some judged events such as figure skating.
The recently appointed SWAC had a few questions about events they saw missing from the catalog including slap fighting, women’s collegiate volleyball, beach volleyball, and a sport gaining traction in other jurisdictions, pickleball.
Stokke noted that this catalog, like other states, is not permanent and there will be opportunities to add and amend as the state’s sports betting industry develops.
KHRC Deputy Executive Director Waqas Ahmed wanted to ensure that leagues and governing bodies were able to come to the state. Stokke said there are indeed regulations in place for the groups to reach out and request removal.
