Missouri sports bettors have crossed into Kansas for nearly 3 years to position legal sports bets. Three years from now, Kansas residents may do the exact same.

Key takeaways

- Kansas lawmakers halted new sportsbook license extensions until 2026, meaning possible regulatory modifications that might affect its six legal operators after 2027.
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- Missouri is set to release legal mobile sportsbooks in late 2025, possibly reversing cross-border betting patterns as Kansas wagerers may head east.

- Future modifications in Kansas might include a sole-operator model or tax hikes, impacting competitors and encouraging gamblers to look for options in Missouri.

Kansas sports betting wagering background

Kansas introduced its first legal mobile sportsbooks in 2022. Six books now take bets: BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, ESPN BET, Fanatics and sports betting FanDuel.
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The capability to position legal bets in Kansas attracts gamblers on the Missouri side of the Kansas City city area to Kansas to wager, with some doing so most or nearly every day of the week.

That might change if Kansas legislators upend the present regulatory structure. Sources tell Covers some lawmakers want to increase the state's sports wagering tax profits, amongst the most affordable per capita of any of the 30 states with statewide legal mobile sportsbooks.

Kansas' most likely reconsideration of its six-book legal sports betting wagering market next year will come after Missouri goes cope with as many as a dozen books; if Kansas significantly curtails its offerings, it could lead KS bettors to place bets in MO, the opposite of the current pattern
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The modifications might be as easy as a tax increase. It could likewise result in a sole-source operator design some lawmakers are considering, one that could generate more direct earnings for the state but possibly force out some or all of the six existing sportsbooks when their licenses expire in Aug. 2027.

The legislation passed previously this month just positions a prohibition up until 2026, implying Kansas' current sportsbooks can take bets till their licenses end the following year. Lawmakers might not even consider a dramatic modification to the regulative structure when they reconvene for the 2026 session, suggesting no noticeable impact for Sunflower State gamblers.
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But the license extension prohibition leaves the possibility for remarkable changes that didn't seem possible weeks earlier.

Missouri sportsbooks prepare to launch

The Kansas relocation comes as Missouri nears the launch of its legal sportsbooks.
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Missouri's multi-year sports betting legalization push ended in Nov. 2024, when voters narrowly authorized a tally procedure to bring legal retail and online sportsbooks to the state. The vote followed years of unsuccessful efforts to legislate sports betting wagering in the legislature.
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Missouri's legal sportsbooks are set to begin taking bets in the 4th quarter of 2025. There are likewise set to be nearly twice as lots of betting options in Missouri as Kansas.

FanDuel and DraftKings contributed more than $30 million to support the tally measure. The 2 U.S. market share leaders have actually, as expected, revealed strategies to take bets in Missouri as soon as licensed.

Other books including BetMGM, BetRivers and Underdog also revealed launch plans. Bet365 struck an offer with MLB's St. Louis Cardinals and likewise prepares to accept bets in the state.

Caesars, which opposed the tally procedure over license allocation issues, operates three Missouri casinos and is eligible to launch its in the state. Penn Entertainment (ESPN BET) and Bally's (Bally Bet) likewise operate Missouri gambling establishments that approve them instant market access.
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Other books consisting of Acid rock, live in Illinois, sports betting could likewise pursue among roughly two-dozen prospective Missouri sports wagering licenses.

The wider selection of Show Me State betting alternatives might attract Kansas gamblers in the Kansas City city area to Missouri to put bets, reversing years of gambler traffic going the opposite instructions. This might speed up if the Sunflower State cuts its sportsbook lineup, specifically if DraftKings and/or FanDuel can no longer accept bets.

Missouri citizens in the Kansas City city were the most ardent advocates of the sports betting ballot step, which could highlight homeowners' interest in placing bets in their home state as soon as 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.