A sports advisory panel in Kentucky has recommended approval of a “very extensive” sports betting catalog and said additional sporting events or wagering types that didn’t make the initial list can be added in the future.
The seven-member Sports Wagering Advisory Council (SWAC) approved a nearly three-page list of events as its initial sports catalog. The catalog now goes to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC), which will meet before Kentucky sports betting officially kicks off on September 7.
“Excitement for sports wagering is building as we are just one week away from opening retail locations and one month from opening mobile applications for sports wagering,” Governor Andy Beshear said shortly after SWAC held its inaugural meeting on Thursday.
“Kentuckians now know where they can place a bet and the type of sporting events and wagers that licensees can offer.”
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What’s In The Catalog
The catalog includes several obvious entries, such as MLB, NASCAR, NBA, NFL, NHL, and WNBA. Six NCAA sports are also included.
KHRC “solicited feedback from licensed entities and surveyed surrounding states in relation to lists of approved of sports events and types of wager,” Hans Stokke, director of sports wagering for the KHRC, told SWAC at its first meeting.
“We have a very extensive catalog in front of us,” added KHRC Deputy Executive Director Waqas Ahmed.
Baseball aficionados will be able to place wagers on league action in Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, and the Caribbean. Wagers on European and international basketball are also be allowed, as is betting on some soccer and tennis both in the US and internationally.
Racing and motor sport wagering appeared limited to US events only, while golf showed only international events. Australian Rules Football also made the list, as did mixed martial arts — through the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) — and the Summer and Winter X-Games.
Eight eSports also made the catalog — Call of Duty League, Counterstrike Global Offensive (CS:GO), League of Legends (LoL), Dota 2, NBA 2k League, Overwatch League, Rainbow 6, and Valorant.
Other Sports on SWAC Catalog
| Sporting Event | Sports Governing Body |
|---|---|
| Billiards | World Pool Billiard Association |
| Bowling | Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) |
| Chess | International Chess Federation (FIDE) |
| Cornhole | American Cornhole League (ACL Pro Division) |
| Darts | Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) |
| Netball | ANZ Premiership; Super Netball |
| Special Events | Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest |
| Table Tennis | International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) |
SWAC also gave their approval of several types of wagers that could be offered by a licensee, as defined in the state’s administrative regulations. The types of wagers include:
- Single game bets
- Teaser bets
- Parlays
- Over-under bets
- Money line bets
- Pools
- In-game wagering
- In-play bets
- Proposition bets
- Straight bets
What’s Not In The Catalog
Stokke said there were some sporting events that didn’t make the list.
“We did consider several other jurisdictions’ catalogs and what those represent,” he said. “There are some omissions from this catalog — [sporting events] that will not be allowed in Kentucky that you might find in other jurisdictions.”
“Particularly, any dog or horse race will not be included in our catalog. Any events that are not considered sporting events — like the Academy Awards or the Emmy Awards — won’t be able to be in this catalog.”
Wagers on disciplinary proceedings or events that depend on the outcome of a replay will also not be allowed.
“Some leagues and wager types that are available in other jurisdictions, [...] we decided weren’t right in our initial offering,” Stokke said. “We did have some proposals from service providers that were more extensive than the catalog that we landed on. For our initial offering, we chose the sporting events that are governed by a governing body that we felt comfortable with the research we’ve done.”
Stokke added that “there is some possibility for additional sports and markets being added to this list,” but that operators would have to follow a process to submit them to SWAC.
Beshear signed an executive order creating SWAC and appointing its first-ever members on August 15.
Retail sports betting officially begins in Kentucky on September 7, with mobile sports betting following on September 28.
