Kansas Sports Betting

In 2022, legislation was passed granting authorization for the state's four Lottery Gaming Facilities to provide both land-based and mobile wagering services, along with the installation of wagering kiosks at retail partner locations, Kansas' Class III tribes do not have permission to offer sports betting services.

In December 2018, a legislative committee met to discuss options for sports gaming and agreed it’s likely that Kansas will legalize sports gaming at some point. Disagreement remains over whether the state would allow online sports gaming or restrict it to existing casinos. The committee also discussed sports betting at places such as sports bars or lottery ticket retailers. The group made recommendations for the full Legislature to consider in 2019.

In February 2020, the state Senate passed a bill to authorize sports betting through retail sportsbooks at Kansas’ commercial casinos and via mobile platforms affiliated with those casinos. The bill never passed in the House, due to the pandemic. The bill would have extended sports betting rights to tribal operators in the state.

In the spring of 2021, the Kansas Senate passed a bill that would expand the state lottery and allow each of the state’s four casinos to partner with three online brands. The House; however, voted against a bill that included a lottery sportsbook partner, allowing for up to 1,200 retailers to take sports bets on lottery-approved machines. The state casinos would have also allowed one sportsbook partner for online betting.

In 2022, following several sessions in the House Federal and State Affairs Committee, the House inserted the language from a compromised bill, HB2470, into SB 84, which passed the Senate in 2021. While the basics of the proposals are the same – conducting sports betting from the four casinos in the state – the House adds several other components. The chambers came to an agreement, including the House addition of retail partnerships. The conference committee also agreed to a 10% tax on retail and mobile sports betting.

The House passed the bill, but it failed in the Senate. The chamber voted on the issue when it returned later in April, first rejecting a deal before agreeing to an adjusted one. Shortly thereafter the Senate approved the bill. The Senate sent SB84 to the Governer Laura Kelly and she signed it into law on 12 May. The law went into effect 1 July. On 18 August, a soft launch date was set for 1 September with six sports betting sites. The full launched commenced in September.

The bill legalized retail and mobile sports betting through the state’s four casinos and allows each casino to have up to three online skins and enter into up to 50 retailer partnerships. A casino can also request an additional online skin in partnership with a professional sports team. Retail and online sports betting are taxed at ten percent. Betting on pro, college, motorsports and special events are authorized by the commission.