Casino Gambling In Ky
- When it comes to gambling in “The Bluegrass State,” your only options are top Kentucky online casinos. With brick and mortar, the state only allows horse racing wagering and less than 1,000 slot machines state-wide. Thankfully, there are plenty of high-quality, safe, trusted Kentucky online casino sites. The recently updated chart below.
- Casinos in Kentucky Kentucky, known as the “Bluegrass state,” does not have any traditional casinos. The most common form of gambling found in Kentucky is pari-mutuel betting on thoroughbred horse racing, which can be found at the 10 racetracks located through out the state.
Online casinos are currently illegal in the state, and in 2008 over 100 casino websites were seized by the state, which declared that they constituted illegal forms of gambling. We can’t recommend any Kentucky online casinos but will be on the lookout for any shifts in the state’s stance towards online gambling sites. Derby City Gaming is located on Poplar Level Road near the Watterson Expressway in Louisville, Kentucky offering 900 state-of-the-art historical racing machines (HRMs) - a combination of a slot machine. There is no legal casino gambling in Kentucky and that means, no legal gambling age has been defined. However, as residents can travel across state to gamble it is worthwhile to know the legal ages there. Indiana, Ohio and Illinois all have a minimum age of 21 for gambling in the casino.
Kentucky is not a gambling-friendly state by any means. Actually, it could have some of the strictest laws around gambling in the entire country.
That being said, Kentucky does have minimal options for those looking to press their luck, including the famously known Kentucky Derby.
Horse racing is legal in the Bluegrass State, as well as the state lottery.
Is online gambling in the future of Kentucky? And how did the state become so strict towards gambling in the first place? We break it down and more in our Kentucky gambling guide below.
Online Casinos in Kentucky
Although Kentucky has a long tradition with horse racing, it has not legalized casinos (online or otherwise).
There have been limited discussions of legalizing online casinos, but it seems unlikely that we'll see online casinos offered there in the foreseeable future.
Kentucky does have a state lottery, which can indicate an openness to other forms of betting.
The nearest online casinos will be in West Virginia, which has already approved legislation. Tennessee has recently approved online sports betting.
But, you can still register with a legal online casino while you're in Kentucky.
That means you can get the casino's bonus offers or deposit, and then play whenever you're in states where it's legal (even in a layover at the airport). (Do be aware of the casinobonus's expiry date, though.)
The only forms of legal online gambling in the state include the lottery and pari-mutuel betting.
Land-Based Casinos in Kentucky
The most common type of gambling offered is pari-mutuel betting on thoroughbred horse racing at the 10 racetracks located throughout the state.
The most famous horse race offered in the state is the Kentucky Derby, which has been run annually since 1875.
The Kentucky Derby is always run at Churchill Downs on the first Sunday in May.
A festival is also held each year for two weeks before the race in Louisville, where the track is located. Louisville is also the state's largest city.
There are three racetrack casinos in Kentucky that offer some form of casino gambling. There are no traditional slot machines in Kentucky casinos. Instead, they all offer instant racing bettingmachines.
While these machines may appear to be regular slot machines, they are actually gaming machines that are based on unidentified past horse races and the spinning reels shown on the machinesare for entertainment purposes only.
Those instant racing machines are the only types of casino gambling offered in Kentucky casinos. You will not find any table games offered at the casinos in Kentucky.
Types of Casinos in Kentucky
There are no traditional casinos in Kentucky.
Residents have numerous racetracks to choose from, as explained above.
List of Racetracks in Kentucky
Click on any of the race tracks below to learn more about them.
Derby City Gaming
- 4520 Poplar Level Rd, Louisville, KY 40213
- +1 502-961-7600
- Games: Instant racing betting machines
Ellis Park
- 3300 US-41, Henderson, KY 42420
- +1 812-425-1456
- Games: Instant racing betting machines
Kentucky Downs
- 5629 Nashville Rd, Franklin, KY 42134
- +1 270-586-7778
- Games: Instant racing betting machines
Red Mile
- 1200 Red Mile Rd, Lexington, KY 40504
- +1 859-255-0752
- Games: Instant racing betting machines
Churchill Downs
- 700 Central Ave, Louisville, KY 40208
- +1 502-636-4400
- Games: Instant racing betting machines
- Hosts the Kentucky Derby
Turfway Park
- 7500 Turfway Rd, Florence, KY 41042
- +1 859-371-0200
- Games: Instant racing betting machines
Keeneland
Riverboat Gambling In Ky
- 4201 Versailles Rd, Lexington, KY 40510
- +1 859-254-3412
- Games: Instant racing betting machines