The Churchill Downs Racecourse in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, has shut down its on-site sports betting operations.
Kentucky legalized sports betting in March 2023, with live and only betting following in June. This means that the Churchill Downs Racecourse could partner with online betting operators (and open retail sites) across its nine racetracks.
Due to the rise of online sports betting (particularly via mobile), management at the popular racecourse has decided that it is no longer economically feasible to operate a brick-and-mortar venue for punters and gamblers to bet on its race events.
Darren Rogers, Churchhill’s Director of Operation, said of the decision: “With 98% of sports betting made on mobile forms such platforms such as FanDuel, there simply isn’t a profitable path forward for us to sustain profitability as a retail operator.” Rogers continues: “We’re going to focus our time and resources elsewhere.”
In the first year since sports betting became legalized, Kentucky saw an estimated $2.6 billion in revenue according to its gambling regulators. Since then, legal teams are looking to legalize both live casinos and fantasy sports, where it’s said that live venues could only be allowed in areas with more than 30,000 residents. As such, smaller counties could partner to vote on the issue, seeing slot machines and table games added to horse racing tracks or as standalone operations.
Should legalization happen, casino revenue would be taxed at 21%, requiring a property charge of $3 a head per patron. Churchill Downs Racecourse is also home to the Kentucky Derby, that’s been running since 1875. Since betting became legalized in the state, the location reported record profits of $446 million, besting the previous $412 million record by $34 million, purely because of betting.
Churchill Downs also operates two Derby City gambling establishments, which are themed around horseracing, including slots. It’s been confirmed that these two venues will continue to accept live sports bets even though the main racecourse will not. Winning tickets can still be redeemed for the foreseeable future, but punters are advised to act sooner rather than later to collect their debts.
In other news, the East Coast Gaming Congress speaker lineup has been announced.
