The Kansas Lottery has announced a sports betting launch date of Sept. 1, setting the stage for an entire football season of sports betting in Kansas.
The news comes just a couple of weeks after the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission released its proposed sports betting regulations. Here are five things you need to know about the upcoming Kansas sports betting launch:
1. Kansas Sports Betting Launch Date: Sept. 1
According to the Kansas Lottery, mobile sportsbooks are expected to soft launch on Sept. 1 at noon. If all goes well, a full launch will follow on Thursday, September 8, which happens to be opening night for the 2022 NFL season.
2. Legal Issues Remain?
The Kansas Lottery released a Youtube video with the launch announcement. There was a small caveat in the short video: Kansas Lottery Executive Director Stephen Durrell said, “There are still several regulatory and administrative hurdles that we need to get through to make this launch a reality, but we’re hopeful we can get there.”
John Millburn, a spokesman for Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, was a little more pessimistic, saying the office has identified “significant legal issues” with the proposed regulations, per an AP report. “We intend to approve these regulations as soon as the agency fixes the legal problems in their initial version,” Milburn said.
Durell also said to look for another video that will answer frequently asked questions about sports betting in the not-too-distant future.
Should the concerns get resolved, the timeline from the sports betting bill passage, May 12, to launch, Sept. 1, is the fastest legal sports betting rollout thus far.
(IF) Kansas online sports betting launches by the 2022 NFL season kickoff it will be the quickest turnaround from bill signing to first bet of the 20+ mobile betting states:
1) Kansas – 81 days (assuming Sep 8 launch)
2) Iowa – 95 days
3) Arizona – 148 days
4) Indiana – 149 days— Ryan Butler (@ButlerBets) August 18, 2022
3. Kansas Pre-Launch Bonus At DraftKings
Kansas residents (or visitors) don’t have to wait until Sept. 1 to claim $100 in free bets at DraftKings Sportsbook. Here’s the scoop:
- New to DraftKings? Get $100 on launch day! You can sign up for a DraftKings Sportsbook account now, and get $100 in free bets on the launch date.
- Get a free sweepstakes entry. The pre-launch offer also grants entry into a $100K Free Bet Sweepstakes at DraftKings Sportsbook.
- Existing DK accounts are eligible. If you already have a DraftKings Sportsbook account, you’re eligible for this bonus whenever you enter Kansas.
Kansas bettors can sign up for DraftKings Sportsbook and claim the pre-launch bonus using our exclusive link.
JOIN NOW: DraftKings Sportsbook Kansas $100 Pre-Launch Bonus
4. A Look Inside Kansas Sports Betting Law
The Sunflower State’s sports betting law doesn’t stand out from the crowd in any significant way. The only policy of note is the state put no restrictions on college betting. That is a critical policy for a state that lacks a professional sports team in any of the four major sports – although it could be argued the Missouri-based Kansas City Chiefs and Kansas City Royals are local teams.
Per the law, the four commercial casinos in Kansas can operate up to three online sportsbooks. The law also allows sports betting kiosks at up to 50 other locations.
Tribal casinos are also potential Kansas sports betting operators, provided they renegotiate their compacts with the state. The easy path for tribes is as retail sportsbooks, but tribes also can offer online sports betting, should a tribe decide to take that route.
“… upon receipt of a Tribe’s request to negotiate or renegotiate a Compact to include sports betting, the Governor’s office shall forward the request to the Lottery, which may negotiate a management contract authorizing the Tribe to operate an online sports betting platform on the Lottery’s behalf.”
5. Sizing Up The Kansas Sports Betting Market
Kansas sports betting will begin with each of the state’s four casinos launching up to three online sports betting platforms, giving bettors up to 12 betting options.
While there hasn’t been an official announcement, seven of the 12 spots appear to be spoken for by most of the big names in the industry.
Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway – Operated by Penn National
- Barstool Sportsbook
- TBD
- TBD
Kansas Star Casino – Operated by Boyd Gaming
Boot Hill Casino & Resort – Operated by DraftKings
- DraftKings Sportsbook
- Bally Bet
- TBD
Kansas Crossing Casino & Hotel – Operated by Peninsula Pacific Entertainment
With five more spots up for grabs, other big names like WynnBet, BetRivers, or Bet365 may not join the Kansas sportsbooks scene.
And because Kansas isn’t a top-tier market, it could also offer a soft landing spot for lesser-known legal sportsbooks like Circa, Fubo, or SI Sportsbook, who won’t be seen as a significant threat to the brands holding the keys to the market – DraftKings, Penn National, and Boyd.