Missouri Sports Betting Launch could Come Before Kansas Sportsbook Changes
Missouri sports bettors have crossed into Kansas for nearly 3 years to place legal sports bets. Three years from now, sports betting Kansas homeowners may do the very same.
Key takeaways
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- Kansas legislators stopped brand-new sportsbook license extensions up until 2026, meaning possible regulative modifications that could affect its 6 legal operators after 2027.
- Missouri is set to release legal mobile sportsbooks in late 2025, possibly reversing cross-border betting patterns as Kansas bettors might head east.
- Future changes in Kansas might include a sole-operator design or sports betting tax hikes, impacting competitors and motivating gamblers to look for alternatives in Missouri.
Kansas sports betting wagering background
Kansas released its very first legal mobile sportsbooks in 2022. Six books now take bets: BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, ESPN BET, Fanatics and FanDuel.
The ability to put legal bets in Kansas draws in wagerers on the Missouri side of the Kansas City city area to Kansas to bet, with some doing so most or nearly every day of the week.
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That might change if Kansas legislators upend the existing regulative structure. Sources tell Covers some lawmakers want to increase the state's sports betting tax profits, amongst the least expensive per capita of any of the 30 states with statewide legal mobile sportsbooks.
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Kansas' likely reconsideration of its six-book legal sports betting market next year will come after Missouri goes cope with as lots of as a lots books; if Kansas considerably curtails its offerings, it could lead KS wagerers to position bets in MO, the reverse of the present pattern
The modifications might be as basic as a tax increase. It could also result in a sole-source operator model some legislators are thinking about, one that might produce more direct income for the state but potentially displace some or sports betting all of the 6 existing sportsbooks as soon as their licenses end in Aug. 2027.
The legislation passed previously this month just positions a prohibition till 2026, suggesting Kansas' existing sportsbooks can take bets till their licenses expire the list below year. Lawmakers might not even consider a dramatic change to the regulatory structure when they reconvene for the 2026 session, suggesting no noticeable impact for Sunflower State gamblers.
But the license extension restriction leaves the possibility for sports betting dramatic changes that didn't appear feasible weeks back.
Missouri sportsbooks prepare to release
The Kansas relocation 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 legislate sports betting in the legislature.
Missouri's legal sportsbooks are set to start taking bets in the 4th quarter of 2025. There are likewise set to be almost twice as lots of betting options in Missouri as Kansas.
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FanDuel and DraftKings contributed more than $30 million to support the ballot procedure. The two U.S. market share leaders have, as expected, revealed strategies to take bets in Missouri as soon as licensed.
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Other books consisting of BetMGM, sports betting BetRivers and Underdog also announced launch strategies. Bet365 struck a handle MLB's St. Louis Cardinals and likewise prepares to accept bets in the state.
Caesars, which opposed the ballot step over license allowance issues, runs 3 Missouri casinos and sports betting is eligible to launch its online book in the state. Penn Entertainment (ESPN BET) and Bally's (Bally Bet) also run that give them immediate market access.
Other books consisting of Hard Rock, live in Illinois, might also pursue one of approximately two-dozen possible Missouri sports wagering licenses.
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The wider array of Show Me State betting alternatives could attract Kansas wagerers in the Kansas City metro area to Missouri to position bets, reversing years of bettor traffic going the opposite direction. This could speed up if the Sunflower State reduces its sportsbook roster, specifically if DraftKings and/or FanDuel can no longer accept bets.
Missouri voters in the Kansas City metro were the most ardent advocates of the sports betting tally measure, which might underscore locals' interest in positioning bets in their home state as soon as books go live.
Missouri's sports betting lineup doubts ahead of the 2025 launch. Kansas' sportsbooks could alter too in the occurring years.