Kansas legalized sports betting when Governor Laura Kelly signed Senate Bill 84 into law on May 12th, 2022. However, the mooted launch date of early September ahead of the NFL season is now looking highly unlikely.
When signing the bill, Governor Kelly stated that she envisioned the industry being up and ready for business by September 8th, but according to Todd Allen, the director of wagering for the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission, the agency’s members have not yet voted on draft regulations for the industry. He now feels that this will result in sports betting’s launch being pushed back to some time later in the year.
The Commission must have a process in place for background investigations for license application by August 1st. Those background checks will then take place some time during the month. Meanwhile, the Commission must also get started on drafting regulations for industry oversight. These will then be voted on by August 12th at the very earliest.
The Kansas Lottery is then expected to create a sportsbook platform approval process by no later than September 1st while the NFL regular season starts just one week later.
While the four state-owned casinos have already announced partnerships with sportsbook operators, it’s unlikely that they will be approved licensed and ready to go by the 8th given the already cramped timeline.
Sports betting in Kansas was approved in the Senate by a vote of 21 to 13 and in the House of Representatives by a vote of 73 to 49. The legislation allows the state’s four casinos to operate retail sportsbooks and three online sportsbooks (skins). The casinos are also allowed to partner with up to 50 retail locations where betting kiosks can be installed.
Tribal casinos are currently negotiating amended gaming compacts to allow them to run sportsbooks under similar regulations to the state-owned commercial casinos.
An experienced iGaming commentator and analyst based in New York City - Jenny reports on regulation and gambling industry news and events.