Senate Passes Sports Betting Bill In Kansas

A Kansas sports betting bill is heading to the governor's desk to be potentially signed.

Legal sports betting in Kansas is one signature away from becoming a reality for residents.
The Senate has passed KS SB 283, legalizing retail and mobile gambling on sports matchups.
Revenue from the sports betting market in Kansas could be as high as $50 million a year, early estimates show.

TOPEKA, Kan. – The Senate has passed bill KS SB 283 on Wednesday which would legalize sports betting in Kansas. The final vote at the emergency hearing came to 23 YEAS and 15 NAYS.

Emergency action was needed as the bill deadline for being in chambers was set for Thursday. The hearing took over four hours of struggling over details before members came to the final conclusion of passing KS SB 283.

What Are The Terms For Legal Sports Betting In Kansas

Under KS SB 283 both retail and internet mobile-friendly platforms are available for residents to use. The sports betting lounge locations would be an expansion of the state’s four commercial casinos.

Each casino would be given two internet/mobile sportsbook operator licenses which means they could run two online sportsbooks, giving Kansas a total of eight possible online sports betting sites to choose from.

A 7.5% tax on all revenue from gambling on sporting events at retail locations will be enforced by law. A 10% tax will be put on all wagers taken through mobile and internet sportsbooks run by the casinos.

Should professional sports establishments wish to dabble in having their own sports betting lounges, they have the ability to do so through legalizing KS SB 283.

This means the Kansas Speedway and Children’s Mercy Park (where the Sporting Kansas City professional soccer team plays) could operate sportsbooks within the vicinity of their facilities as on-site gambling is prohibited.

If the speedway and soccer team wanted to get involved in the business, they would have to link up with one of the casinos and ink a partnership to do so. The legal age to place bets in Kansas is set at 21 and the Kansas Lottery would regulate the market as a whole.

What Kansas Expects To See

The handle for the sports betting market in Kansas is expected to see anywhere from $360 million to $600 million annually. Within five years, that number could grow to as large as $900 million.

Conservative estimates lean more toward $500 million. From that, a 5% tax rate would gain Kansas $2.25 million in revenue each year. Through amendments made to the bill, 2% of all revenue would fund gambling addiction programs.

Kansas is nearing the finish line of legalizing sports betting for its residents. If Governor Laura Kelly agrees to the terms and signs the bill within 10 days, legal gambling on sporting events will become law in the Sunflower State.

If this happens, residential sports bettors can expect to see sportsbooks popping up in Kansas sometime in 2020 or at the very latest, 2021.

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Christina Monroe

Christina has been writing for as long as she can remember and does dedicated research on the newly regulated sports betting market. She comes from a family of sports lovers that engage in friendly bets from time to time. During the winter months, you can find Christina baking cookies and beating the entire staff at Mario Kart…the N64 version of course.