Lawmakers in Kansas have passed a mobile sports betting bill and sent it to Governor Laura Kelly for her signature.
The Democratic governor is expected to sign the measure, making the Sunflower State either the 34th or 35th US state with legal sports betting, depending on what happens in Maine. But the bill also serves as a tool to entice a professional sports team to relocate to Kansas — with 80% of tax revenue from sports betting designed for that purpose.
Both houses of the Kansas Legislature adopted conference committee reports in favor of the bill, SB 84. The state House of Representatives passed the measure by a 73-49 vote on Thursday, while the Senate gave its approval after a lengthy debate that stretched into early Friday morning. The final vote in the Senate was 21-13.
“This is long overdue,” Rep. Tom Burroughs (D-Kansas City) said on the House floor, according to the Topeka Capital-Journal.
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What the Sports Betting Bill Says
Under SB 84, mobile sports betting would be tied to the 11 land-based casinos in the state. Of those, four are commercial facilities and seven are tribal casinos. The bill allows each casino to have three skins, meaning Kansas could have as many as 33 different sports betting operators deployed.
| Casino | Location | Owner(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Boot Hill Casino & Resort | Dodge City | Butler National Corporation |
| Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway | Kansas City | Penn National Gaming |
| Kansas Crossing Casino & Hotel | Pittsburg | Equity Ventures, JNB Gaming, and Laham Development |
| Kansas Star Casino | Mulvane | Boyd Gaming |
| 7th Street Casino | Kansas City | Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma |
| Casino White Cloud | White Cloud | Iowa Tribe of Kansa and Nebraska |
| Downstream Casino Resort | Quapaw | Quapaw Tribe |
| Golden Eagle Casino | Horton | Kickapoo Nation in Kansas |
| CrossWinds Casino | Park City | Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma |
| Prairie Band Casino & Resort | Mayetta | Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation |
| Sac & Fox Casino | Powhattan | Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska |
The bill calls for the Kansas Lottery Commission (KLC) to regulate sports betting in the state and to promulgate rules for the enterprise. A tax rate of 10% would be levied on gross revenue. SB 84 also stipulates that 80% of tax revenue would go to a fund designed to provide incentives for a professional sports team to move to Kansas, while only 2% would go toward a fund for problem gambling and responsible gaming initiatives.
That portion of the bill is a clear sign that Kansas aims to lure either the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, MLB’s Kansas City Royals, or both to relocate from neighboring Missouri. The teams play in adjoining stadiums that were built in the 1970s.
SB 84 would also allow up to 50 sports betting kiosks in the state, but at least 20% of them must be through either non-profit fraternal or veteran organizations.
Mobile sports betting would launch on January 1, 2023, which likely gives the KLC less than eight months to get ready.
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Kansas Sports Betting Bill: What Happens Next
Kelly has 10 days to decide whether to sign the bill. If she doesn’t sign, it will automatically become law without her signature after the 10-day period expires. If she vetoes the bill, a two-thirds majority in both houses of the legislature would be needed to override her veto.
Considering the margin of the vote to pass SB 84, a veto by the governor would likely doom the measure. Supporters would need 84 votes in the House and 27 in the Senate to override Kelly — well short of the 73 votes it received in the House and 21 in the Senate.
But Kelly favors the legislation and is expected to sign it.
The move by Kansas to become either the 34th or 35th US state with regulated sports betting comes one week after lawmakers in Maine passed similar legislation and sent it to Governor Janet Mills for her signature. It also comes days after neighboring Missouri failed to enact legislation of its own.
It’s unclear what sportsbooks would launch in Kansas, but, with up to 33 skins allowed, it could very well be most of the US sportsbook brands that bettors are already familiar with. It seems likely that Barstool Sportsbook would be one of the three skins at Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway, considering the facility is owned by parent company Penn National.
Records show that Penn National, Boyd Gaming, Kansas Star Casino, Boot Hill Casino & Resort, Kansas Crossing Casino & Hotel, and Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation have all expressed their support for expanded gaming in the state.
