Missouri Sports Betting Launch might Come Before Kansas Sportsbook Changes
Missouri sports betting bettors have crossed into Kansas for almost 3 years to place legal sports bets. Three years from now, Kansas homeowners may do the exact same.
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Key takeaways
- Kansas legislators stopped brand-new sportsbook license extensions up until 2026, meaning possible regulatory changes that could impact its 6 legal operators after 2027.
- Missouri is set to introduce legal mobile sportsbooks in late 2025, possibly reversing cross-border betting trends as Kansas wagerers might head east.
- Future modifications in Kansas might include a sole-operator design or tax hikes, affecting competitors and encouraging bettors to look for alternatives in Missouri.
Kansas sports betting background
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Kansas launched its first legal mobile sportsbooks in 2022. Six books now take bets: BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, ESPN BET, Fanatics and FanDuel.
The capability to put legal bets in Kansas draws in bettors on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metro area to Kansas to bet, with some doing so most or nearly every day of the week.
That might change if Kansas legislators upend the current regulative structure. Sources tell Covers some lawmakers wish to increase the state's sports wagering tax revenue, amongst the least expensive per capita of any of the 30 states with statewide legal mobile sportsbooks.
Kansas' most likely reconsideration of its six-book legal sports betting market next year will come after Missouri goes deal with as numerous as a dozen books; if Kansas significantly curtails its offerings, it could lead KS wagerers to put bets in MO, the opposite of the current pattern
The changes might be as easy as a tax boost. It could also lead to a sole-source operator model some legislators are considering, one that could generate more direct profits for the state however possibly displace some or all of the six existing sportsbooks once their licenses end in Aug. 2027.
The legislation passed earlier this month just places a restriction till 2026, suggesting Kansas' current sportsbooks can take bets till their licenses end the list below year. Lawmakers might not even consider a remarkable change to the regulative structure when they reconvene for the 2026 session, suggesting no perceptible effect for Sunflower State gamblers.
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But the license leaves the possibility for remarkable changes that didn't seem possible weeks earlier.
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 citizens narrowly authorized a tally measure 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 begin taking bets in the 4th quarter of 2025. There are also set to be almost twice as many wagering options in Missouri as Kansas.
FanDuel and sports betting DraftKings contributed more than $30 million to support the tally measure. The 2 U.S. market share leaders have, as expected, announced strategies to take bets in Missouri when accredited.
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Other books including BetMGM, BetRivers and Underdog likewise announced launch plans. Bet365 struck a deal with MLB's St. Louis Cardinals and likewise plans to accept bets in the state.
Caesars, which opposed the ballot procedure over license allowance concerns, operates 3 Missouri casinos and is qualified to release its online book in the state. Penn Entertainment (ESPN BET) and Bally's (Bally Bet) likewise run Missouri casinos that approve them instant market gain access to.
Other books including Acid rock, reside in Illinois, could likewise pursue among approximately two-dozen possible Missouri sports wagering licenses.
The broader selection of Show Me State betting choices might attract Kansas wagerers in the Kansas City metro location to Missouri to position bets, reversing years of gambler traffic going the opposite instructions. This could speed up if the Sunflower State curtails its sportsbook lineup, sports betting particularly if DraftKings and/or FanDuel can no longer accept bets.
Missouri voters in the Kansas City metro were the most ardent supporters of the sports wagering ballot measure, which could highlight locals' interest in putting bets in their home state as soon as books go live.
Missouri's sports betting wagering lineup doubts ahead of the 2025 launch. Kansas' sportsbooks might alter too in the ensuing years.
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