We want to expedite the process as much as possible, but we also want to look out for the patrons and make sure that we uphold the integrity of gaming.
Despite the best efforts of state lawmakers and the governor earlier this year, mobile sports betting appears increasingly unlikely to launch in Kansas before the start of the NFL season.
But the uncertainty hasn’t deterred operators. Penn National Gaming (PNG) is racing ahead — literally — with plans to presumably launch its Barstool Sportsbook brand in the Sunflower State.
Temporary Regs Still in Works
Last week, the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission (KRGC) said it was still working to finalize temporary regulations for mobile sports betting. The commission’s next meeting is scheduled for August 12. The NFL season starts just 27 days later, on September 8.
Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt must also review the temporary regulations before they are allowed to take effect. And the executive director of the Kansas Lottery Commission (KLC) must decide on a process for operators to submit requests for approval — as well as a process for platforms to be approved — by September 1.
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“We want to expedite the process as much as possible, but we also want to look out for the patrons and make sure that we uphold the integrity of gaming,” Todd Allen, Director of Sports Wagering for the KRGC, told KSHB-TV in Kansas City following the commission’s meeting on July 22. “It’s good for the state of Kansas. It also is going to curb some of the illegal gambling that goes on.”
Mobile sports betting enjoyed bipartisan support. Lawmakers in the GOP-controlled Kansas Legislature passed a mobile sports betting bill in late April. Democratic Governor Laura Kelly signed the bill in May.
Kansas’ new gaming regulations require mobile sports betting to be up and running by January 1, 2023. Several internal deadlines were also set to ensure regulators were able to meet the final deadline.
The law gives the KLC the power to regulate sports betting in the state and promulgate enterprise rules. But the KRGC, which regulates the four commercial casinos in the state, will also play a role.
Barstool Name Attached to NASCAR Race
The Barstool Sportsbook at Hollywood Casino will create opportunities to enhance fan interest and engagement, and we’re enthusiastic about the opportunity this presents
Two days before the last KRGC meeting, the Kansas Speedway announced that it had renamed the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series race as the Hollywood Casino 400 presented by Barstool Sportsbook.
PNG owns and operates the adjacent Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway, while NASCAR owns and operates the racetrack, but Kansas Speedway said the casino plans to open a temporary Barstool Sportsbook in September and a permanent facility in 2023.
Barstool will presumably be one of three skins that Hollywood Casino launches. Each of the state’s four commercial casinos and seven tribal casinos are allowed to offer three under Kansas’ new gaming law, meaning Kansas could have as many as 33 online sportsbooks.
“This is an exciting step forward,” said Kansas Speedway President Pat Warren. “The Barstool Sportsbook at Hollywood Casino will create opportunities to enhance fan interest and engagement, and we’re enthusiastic about the opportunity this presents.”
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Other Operators Also Primed to Launch
The only other partnerships announced so far in Kansas involve Bally’s and DraftKings. Both entered into agreements in May to launch mobile sportsbooks at the Boot Hill Casino & Resort in Dodge City with parent company Butler National Corporation.
FanDuel will likely open mobile and retail sportsbooks at the Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane. Boyd Gaming owns the facility, a strategic partner for online casino gaming and sports betting with FanDuel since August 2018. FanDuel operates retail sportsbooks at two Boyd casinos in Iowa and an online sportsbook at one.
Betway and BetMGM also operate online sportsbooks at Boyd casinos in Iowa. BetMGM also runs an online sportsbook at a Boyd casino in Louisiana.
