When seven digital sports betting platforms go live in Kentucky Thursday, it will be become the biggest U.S. jurisdiction by population to allow legal wagering at age 18. But those who are college aged will be limited to two platforms to choose from: bet365 and DraftKings.
The other operators in the first launch group -'Barstool Sportsbook, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, Fanatics Sportsbook, and FanDuel'- won’t take bets from anyone under 21. Circa Sportsbook, which is licensed but won’t launch until later this year, will allow betting at 18.
There are six live U.S. jurisdictions that have set the legal age at 18: Montana, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Washington, D.C., and Washington state. There is no state-wide digital wagering in Montana (though players can use on-site mobile) or Washington state. Of those six, Washington has the biggest population at about 7.7 million. Kentucky’s population is about 4.5 million.
DraftKings has a monopoly in New Hampshire, which borders the strictest responsible gambling state in the nation, Massachusetts, where the legal age is 21, and Ontario, Canada, where the legal age is 19. Its other two border states, Maine and Vermont, have legalized with 21 as the minimum age, but operators haven’t launched in either state.