Missouri sports gamblers have actually crossed into Kansas for almost three years to put legal sports betting bets. Three years from now, Kansas locals may do the exact same.
Key takeaways
- Kansas legislators halted brand-new sportsbook license extensions up until 2026, meaning possible regulatory modifications that might affect its six legal operators after 2027.
- Missouri is set to release legal mobile sportsbooks in late 2025, potentially reversing cross-border betting patterns as Kansas wagerers may head east.
- Future changes in Kansas might consist of a sole-operator model or tax walkings, affecting competitors and motivating wagerers to look for alternatives in Missouri.
Kansas sports betting background
Kansas released its first legal mobile sportsbooks in 2022. Six books now take bets: BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, ESPN BET, Fanatics and sports betting FanDuel.
The capability to place legal bets in Kansas draws in bettors on the Missouri side of the Kansas City city location to Kansas to wager, with some doing so most or nearly every day of the week.
That might change if Kansas lawmakers upend the existing regulative structure. Sources inform Covers some legislators desire to increase the state's sports betting tax revenue, among the most affordable per capita of any of the 30 states with statewide legal mobile sportsbooks.
Kansas' most likely reconsideration of its six-book legal sports betting market next year will follow Missouri goes cope with as many as a lots books; if Kansas considerably cuts its offerings, it might lead KS wagerers to place bets in MO, the opposite of the present pattern
The alterations could be as easy as a tax boost. It might likewise result in a sole-source operator model some legislators are considering, one that could generate more direct profits for the state however potentially force out some or all of the 6 existing sportsbooks as soon as their licenses expire in Aug. 2027.
The legislation passed previously this month only puts a prohibition till 2026, meaning Kansas' existing sportsbooks can take bets till their licenses expire the list below year. Lawmakers may not even think about a remarkable modification to the regulatory structure when they reconvene for the 2026 session, meaning no noticeable effect for Sunflower State wagerers.
But the license extension restriction leaves the possibility for remarkable modifications that didn't appear possible weeks back.
Missouri sportsbooks prepare to release
The Kansas move comes as Missouri nears the launch of its legal sportsbooks.
Missouri's multi-year sports wagering legalization push ended in Nov. 2024, when voters directly authorized a ballot step to bring legal retail and online sportsbooks to the state. The vote followed years of unsuccessful efforts to legalize sports wagering in the legislature.
Missouri's legal sportsbooks are set to begin taking bets in the fourth quarter of 2025. There are also set to be almost two times as lots of wagering alternatives in Missouri as Kansas.
FanDuel and DraftKings contributed more than $30 million to support the ballot step. The two U.S. market share leaders have actually, as anticipated, revealed plans to take bets in Missouri when accredited.
Other books consisting of BetMGM, BetRivers and Underdog also revealed launch plans. Bet365 struck a handle MLB's St. Louis Cardinals and likewise plans to accept bets in the state.
Caesars, which opposed the tally measure over license allotment concerns, operates three Missouri gambling establishments and is qualified to release its online book in the state. Penn Entertainment (ESPN BET) and Bally's (Bally Bet) also run Missouri casinos that give them immediate market access.
Other books including Hard Rock, live in Illinois, might likewise pursue among approximately two-dozen possible Missouri sports betting licenses.
The wider selection of Show Me State wagering choices might draw in Kansas wagerers in the Kansas City city location to Missouri to place bets, reversing years of gambler traffic going the opposite instructions. This could accelerate if the Sunflower State cuts its sportsbook lineup, specifically if DraftKings and/or FanDuel can no longer accept bets.
Missouri citizens in the Kansas City metro were the most ardent advocates of the sports betting wagering tally procedure, which might highlight locals' interest in placing bets in their home state as soon as books go live.
Missouri's sports wagering lineup is unpredictable ahead of the 2025 launch. Kansas' sportsbooks could change too in the occurring years.
