Hold your horses there, son! All those who had been hoping for the launch of Kansas sports betting in time for the kickoff of the NFL Season might be disappointed. Then again, maybe not. While the state Racing and Gaming Commission is working on background checks on potential licensees, the Kansas Lottery has stated that a launch before football season is possible, but in no way a certainty.
The Gaming Commission is also in charge of putting together industry regulations when their board takes up the issue sometime this month. And September 1st is the day that the Lottery is supposed to come up with an approve process for sportsbooks and betting platforms. We’ll see.
The Public Information Officer for the Kansas Lottery recently stated that they do not want to launch prematurely and watch as the whole system crashes. Adding that “It’s moving forward, but the biggest thing for us and everyone is we want the product to be functional, secure and safe to use.”
Both state residents and those living in neighboring Missouri have been waiting on this to come together. Kansas sports betting may be the market to launch for the remainder of this year, and the failure of Missouri to pass any sports betting regulation could bring in additional revenue from across state borders.
Possibly jumping the gun just a bit was the Hollywood Casino out at the Kansas Speedway. They recently announced plans to have a sportsbook up and running in time to take bets on a September 9th NASCAR race. Other potential operators have also said they hope to launch about the same time, including BetMGM and FanDuel.
The tax rate for Kansas sports betting is set at 10% on each wager. Estimates are that tax will generate over $40 million a year in revenue for the state.