Regulators have approved a temporary set of guardrails that will guide sports betting in Kansas when it launches later this year — but an exact start date remains uncertain.
Officials, including Gov. Laura Kelly, had publicly stated that it was their hope to have sports wagering up and running in Kansas by the start of the National Football League season in early September, although it is possible the state won’t hit that target.
Todd Allen, director of sports wagering for the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission, said a timeline for a launch date was not yet available.
“I will say that we are making progress and are hopeful that sports wagering will be coming to Kansas soon,” Allen said in an email.
Kelly signed in May the sports betting bill, a breakthrough on the part of legislators after years of deadlock over how much of a cut the state should get from all revenue, among other disputes.
More:After years of waiting, Kansas lawmakers vote to legalize sports betting, attempt to deceive KC Chiefs
Under the law, casinos can partner with online betting platforms, as well as up to 50 retailers, such as a restaurant or gas station, to offer in-person betting. The Kansas Speedway, Sporting Kansas City and the state’s federally recognized tribes could also offer betting.
The state will take a flat 10% cut of all bets, regardless of whether they are placed online or in person.
While sports betting legalization is only expected to bring in a few million dollars a year to the state’s coffers, it will likely attract bettors across the border in the Kansas City area after Missouri failed to pass its version of a sports betting bill in 2022.
Regulators sign off on temporary betting guidelines
Last week, the Kansas Lottery Commission and Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission both approved temporary rules and regulations that will dictate what betting looks like in Kansas when it does start.
“There is nothing we are doing to hold up sports wagering in Kansas,” David Moses, chair of the KRGC, said during a meeting Friday.
Don Brownlee, executive director of the KRGC, acknowledged that getting everything up and running by NFL kickoff on Sept. 8 remains the goal.
“We know the sports wagering regulations are not exactly where everyone wants them to be, but obviously there is a lot of interest in getting sports wagering up and running in Kansas,” he said.
Operators will be granted a one-year, provisional license based on their work in other states, a move designed to streamline the early days of betting, as well as an acknowledgment that the sportsbooks coming to Kansas are large national firms.
Some of those deals have already been inked, although each casino has elected to partner with different firms.
Hollywood Casino in Kansas City, for instance, has inked a deal with Barstool. Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane, meanwhile, has partnered with BetMGM and FanDuel.
Under statute, each of the state’s four casinos can partner with as many as three mobile apps where consumers can place bets, meaning there can be as many as 12 firms operating in the state.
What comes next for sports betting in Kansas?
Brownlee noted the KRGC and Lottery have items left to complete beyond the rules and regulations’ approval.
Contracts must be agreed between the Lottery and the four state-run casinos, with negotiations underway. The KRGC must also conduct background checks and obtain information on the sports betting platforms seeking to do business in the state.
The Lottery has also begun signing off on advertisements for sports betting firms, explaining a proliferation of promotions on social media and television.
As with other proposed rules and regulations, the Lottery and KRGC regulations will now go to Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s office for approval. Once approved there, it will then go to the Secretary of State for review and official publication.
John Milburn, a spokesperson for Schmidt, said the regulations are already under review but that the exact timeframe for approval was still unknown.
“The review of regulations for legality varies considerably from regulation to regulation depending on the complexity of the regulations and the underlying statutory authority and the ease with which any potential issues can be resolved,” Milburn said in an email.
The process works slightly differently for the state’s four federally recognized tribes. Under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, tribes ink gaming compacts with the state individually that outline the rules and procedures that are followed.
The tribes will work with the Kansas State Gaming Agency, the regulatory body that manages tribal gaming, to amend those compacts.
Kelly said in June that negotiations with the tribes are “proceeding.”
Andrew Bahl is a senior statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached at [email protected] or by phone at 443-979-6100.