Kansas Sports Betting Open for Business With Soft Launch

• Kansas sports betting will launch at noon CT with grand openings from many of the local sportsbooks.
• With mobile and online betting in Kansas, the state will host one of the quickest turnaround times to launching.
• Jordy Nelson will place the first bet at Kansas Star Casino once the sportsbook is officially live.

TOPEKA, Kan. – Kansas sports betting plans to go live Thursday with a 1 p.m. EST launch. The local noon launch will make Kansas one of states with the shortest gap between legalizing and opening sportsbooks.

Governor Laura Kelly signed the KS sports betting bill in May, as six operators will go live during this soft launch.

Another three expect to launch on Sep 8 – just in time for the NFL betting season.

The plan for Kansas sportsbooks is to offer the fairest betting lines around. Because the casinos in Kansas are state owned, their 10% sports betting tax is rather minimal compared to other states with legal sports betting. This should allow Kansas betting players to see odds closer to -110 rather than the -130 odds seen in other jurisdictions.

Sportsbooks Launching on Day 1

• Barstool
• BetMGM
• Caesars
• DraftKings
• FanDuel
• PointsBet

Expectations have Kansas sportsbooks taking in $1.8 billion in bets per year – a proper estimation. This in turn would generate $10 million a year for the state government. But, if it can eclipse this number, expect Missouri to be paying attention.

The Missouri Connection

Missouri and Kansas seemed to be in a race to legalize sports betting first. While Kansas signed a measure into law, Missouri failed to bring any effort to the governor’s desk.

How well legal Kansas sports betting does will have a major role in Missouri’s future industry. As seen with other states, Kansas is likely to have a handful of bettors cross the Missouri state line, place a bet in Kansas, and drive back to the Show Me State.

Geolocation tracking tools will deliver this information in the coming months. Should the data show how many Missouri sports betting players are making their way into Kansas, the hard number of people will be in the ears of lawmakers.

Seen as lost revenue for Missouri, expect the Kansas betting market to give Missouri the final push it needs to regulate sports betting.

Back To Kansas

Nearly every Kansas sportsbook offers a promotion for first time bettors. At BetMGM, bettors can receive a $200 sign up bonus while FanDuel offers $150. Meanwhile, DraftKings offers $100 in free bets but also an entry into a contest to win more free bet money.

Despite thinking Attorney General Derek Schmidt could delay the Kansas sportsbook launch, his quick fix requests were met and Kansas never went off track.

Most will start the action by betting on their phone. But one Kansas local, Jordy Nelson, will place the first bet at Kansas Star, ushering in a new wave of legal sports betting.

News tags: Barstool | BetMGM | Caesars | Derek Schmidt | DraftKings | FanDuel | Jordy Nelson | Kansas | Kansas Star | Missouri | PointsBet