Missouri Sports Betting Launch could Come Before Kansas Sportsbook Changes
Missouri sports wagerers have crossed into Kansas for almost 3 years to put legal sports betting bets. Three years from now, Kansas homeowners may do the very same.
Key takeaways
- Kansas legislators stopped new sportsbook license extensions till 2026, hinting at possible regulative modifications that could 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 include a sole-operator model or tax walkings, impacting competition and encouraging wagerers to look for alternatives in Missouri.
Kansas sports betting background
Kansas launched 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 put legal bets in Kansas attracts bettors on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metro area to Kansas to wager, with some doing so most or nearly every day of the week.
That could change if Kansas lawmakers upend the current regulatory structure. Sources tell Covers some lawmakers wish 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.
Kansas' likely reconsideration of its six-book legal sports wagering market next year will follow Missouri goes deal with as numerous as a lots books; if Kansas significantly reduces its offerings, it might lead KS gamblers to position bets in MO, the opposite of the existing pattern
The alterations could be as simple as a tax increase. It might likewise lead to a sole-source operator design some are thinking about, one that might generate more direct profits for the state but possibly displace some or all of the 6 existing sportsbooks when their licenses expire in Aug. 2027.
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The legislation passed earlier this month just puts a prohibition till 2026, suggesting Kansas' current sportsbooks can take bets until their licenses end the following year. Lawmakers may not even consider a significant modification to the regulatory structure when they reconvene for the 2026 session, meaning no perceptible effect for Sunflower State gamblers.
But the license extension prohibition leaves the possibility for dramatic modifications that didn't seem possible weeks back.
Missouri sportsbooks prepare to introduce
The Kansas relocation comes as Missouri nears the launch of its legal sportsbooks.
Missouri's multi-year sports betting wagering legalization push ended in Nov. 2024, when voters directly authorized a tally step to bring legal retail and online sportsbooks to the state. The vote followed years of unsuccessful efforts to legislate 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 nearly two times as numerous betting choices in Missouri as Kansas.
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FanDuel and DraftKings contributed more than $30 million to support the tally step. The two U.S. market share leaders have actually, as anticipated, revealed strategies to take bets in Missouri as soon as licensed.
Other books consisting of BetMGM, 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.
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Caesars, which opposed the tally measure over license allocation issues, runs three Missouri gambling establishments and is eligible to launch its online book in the state. Penn Entertainment (ESPN BET) and Bally's (Bally Bet) also run Missouri casinos that grant them instant market gain access to.
Other books including Acid rock, reside in Illinois, could also pursue among approximately two-dozen possible Missouri sports wagering licenses.
The larger variety of Show Me State betting choices could attract Kansas wagerers in the Kansas City metro location to Missouri to place bets, reversing years of bettor traffic going the opposite direction. This could speed up if the Sunflower State curtails its sportsbook roster, specifically if DraftKings and/or FanDuel can no longer accept bets.
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Missouri citizens in the Kansas City metro were the most ardent fans of the sports betting ballot measure, which could underscore residents' interest in placing bets in their home state once books go live.
Missouri's sports betting wagering lineup is uncertain ahead of the 2025 launch. Kansas' sportsbooks could alter too in the taking place years.
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