Kentucky Sports Betting Age Raised to 21 Under New Law

Kentucky sports betting has been around for about three years, and now, with House Bill 904, a major change is underway in the industry as the bill went live this past Wednesday. 

According to On3, much of the bill contains horse-racing betting language, but there's still a sports-betting provision. 

The bill, which went into effect on Wednesday, increases the minimum sports betting age from 18 to 21. However, this doesn't apply to slots, horse racing, or fantasy sports contests. That said, fantasy sports contests are regulated, and the companies have to pay licensing fees. 

While the age change is major, there are other changes, too. 

New Law Changes Player Props and Child Support Rules

The other change is prohibiting sportsbooks from offering "under" on certain college player props. There are states like Tennessee that have outlawed prop bets altogether, but removing the "under" should help deter bad actors from tampering with athletes to fix a prop outcome and also deter people from harassing athletes for finishing "under." 

Another item included in the bill is a child support provision. 

Yes, you read that right. 

If there's a person who's more than $500 behind on child support payments, they're unable to make sports wagers. There's a registry being circulated to sports betting operators in the state with these names to keep them away from apps. 

Kentucky Battles With Prediction Markets

Kentucky has been busy in this sphere, including prediction markets. 

The CFTC recently filed a lawsuit against the state as it targeted prediction markets, including Kentucky itself suing Kalshi, Polymarket, and social casino operator Virtual Gaming Worlds. 

In June, Kentucky added a 14.25% tax rate on prediction markets, matching the tax rate on sports betting in the state. To go along with that, HB 904 prohibits licensees of horse racing betting, sports betting, and fantasy contests from contracting with or profiting from prediction markets.