Missouri sports gamblers have crossed into Kansas for nearly 3 years to place legal sports bets. Three years from now, Kansas citizens may do the same.

Key takeaways

- Kansas legislators stopped brand-new sportsbook license extensions up until 2026, meaning possible regulatory modifications that could affect its six legal operators after 2027.

- Missouri is set to launch legal mobile sportsbooks in late 2025, possibly reversing cross-border betting trends as Kansas wagerers might head east.

- Future changes in Kansas might include a sole-operator model or tax hikes, affecting competitors and motivating wagerers to look for alternatives in Missouri.

Kansas sports betting background

Kansas launched its very first legal mobile sportsbooks in 2022. Six books now take bets: BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, ESPN BET, Fanatics and FanDuel.

The ability to bets in Kansas brings in bettors on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metro location to Kansas to bet, with some doing so most or almost every day of the week.

That might change if Kansas lawmakers upend the current regulatory structure. Sources inform Covers some lawmakers wish to increase the state's sports betting wagering tax income, among the most affordable 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 follow Missouri goes live with as many as a dozen books; if Kansas significantly curtails its offerings, it might lead KS gamblers to put bets in MO, the opposite of the current pattern

The changes could be as simple as a tax increase. It might likewise lead to a sole-source operator design some lawmakers are thinking about, one that could generate more direct income for the state however possibly dislodge some or all of the 6 existing sportsbooks once their licenses end in Aug. 2027.
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The legislation passed previously this month just puts a prohibition up until 2026, suggesting Kansas' current sportsbooks can take bets up until their licenses end the following year. Lawmakers may not even think about a remarkable change to the regulative structure when they reconvene for the 2026 session, indicating no perceptible impact for Sunflower State bettors.
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But the license extension prohibition leaves the possibility for significant changes that didn't appear feasible weeks back.

Missouri sportsbooks prepare to introduce

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 citizens narrowly authorized a ballot procedure to bring legal retail and online sportsbooks to the state. The vote followed years of failed efforts to legalize sports wagering in the legislature.

Missouri's legal sportsbooks are set to begin taking bets in the fourth quarter of 2025. There are likewise set to be almost twice as lots of betting choices in Missouri as Kansas.

FanDuel and DraftKings contributed more than $30 million to support the ballot procedure. The 2 U.S. market share leaders have actually, as anticipated, announced strategies to take bets in Missouri once accredited.

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

Caesars, which opposed the tally step over license allocation concerns, sports betting operates 3 Missouri casinos and is eligible to release its online book in the state. Penn Entertainment (ESPN BET) and Bally's (Bally Bet) also operate Missouri casinos that grant them immediate market gain access to.

Other books consisting of Acid rock, live in Illinois, might also pursue among roughly two-dozen prospective Missouri sports wagering licenses.
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The broader range of Show Me State wagering alternatives could attract Kansas gamblers in the Kansas City city location to Missouri to put bets, reversing years of wagerer traffic going the opposite direction. This might speed up if the Sunflower State reduces its sportsbook lineup, particularly if DraftKings and/or FanDuel can no longer accept bets.

Missouri voters in the Kansas City city were the most ardent fans of the sports betting wagering tally step, which might underscore citizens' interest in putting bets in their home state once books go live.

Missouri's sports betting lineup doubts ahead of the 2025 launch. Kansas' sportsbooks could change too in the taking place years.