Mark Stoops: Kentucky will 'absolutely' address gambling rules with players

Earlier this year, Kentucky became the 37th state to legalize sports gambling in the United States.

The law officially goes into effect on Sept. 7 at physical locations (i.e. Keeneland, Churchill Downs), while the more popular online-based gambling platforms launch three weeks later on Sept. 28 — just in time for football season.

A rise in sports gambling within college and professional athletics has hit the industry like a ton of bricks over the past year. Dozens of players and/or coaches at either level have been busted for their bets, and programs across the country are taking preventative measures so their teams aren’t effected by the trend as well.

Now, Kentucky joins that club with sports betting’s availability on the horizon.

“We always talk about that. I think it’s just getting so common with the people. with the phones and the apps and maybe people doing some things innocently, throughout the country and stories you’ve seen,” Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops said. “But we have to really educate them and always have. Going back to when I was a player and [Iowa head coach] Hayden Fry would bring people in and talk to us and educate us on that.

“We always have done that, but I think just with technology and the phone, kids are just so used to doing so many things and it being legal to place bets and prop bets and all those things. Let’s hope we don’t have any issues with it. We have certainly talked to them about it in depth with people and professionals and them understanding the consequences that come with it. I don’t know but I just imagine throughout the country, some of the things that come up, a lot of them are probably just innocent, silly different things they can do, they’re used to doing a lot of things on their phones.” 

It’s safe to say there will be zero tolerance for any sort of gambling within Stoops’ program.

The first chance Big Blue Nation has to actually bet on their Wildcats will be just in time for a Week 2 in-state matchup against Eastern Kentucky on Sept. 9. Gambling on that matchup will be exclusively available at the multitude of horserace tracks across Kentucky, two of which are in Lexington (Keeneland, Red Mile).

Online gambling (DraftKings, FanDuel, etc.) will be available in the week leading up to the Florida game on Sept. 30 and a road trip to Georgia the following week.