Online sports betting is now officially live in Kentucky, and Kentucky Sports Radio host Matt Jones had the honors of placing one of the first legal wagers in the commonwealth on Thursday.
Jones hosted his show from The Mint Gaming Hall in Williamsburg where he bet $100 on the University of Kentucky winning the 2024 college basketball national championship.
He told WYMT-TV that now that online betting is live, Kentuckians everywhere can get in on the fun of having an added incentive to watch games.
“It’ll be added revenue for the state and it’s something fun for people when they want to watch games outside of just a Kentucky game that they’re interested in,” he said. “And the fact that you can do it from your phone makes it easy.”
Up until Thursday, betting was legal in neighboring states Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.
Jones added that legal betting in Kentucky keeps that money within state borders.
“I think it’s going to be great for the state and give us money into the state, rather than giving it over to the other states that are around us,” he said.
