Missouri Sports Betting Launch could Come Before Kansas Sportsbook Changes
Missouri sports betting 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 lawmakers stopped new sportsbook license extensions until 2026, meaning possible regulatory changes that could impact its six legal operators after 2027.
- Missouri is set to release legal mobile sportsbooks in late 2025, possibly reversing cross-border wagering patterns as Kansas bettors may head east.
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- Future changes in Kansas could include a sole-operator model or tax hikes, affecting competitors and motivating wagerers to seek options in Missouri.
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Kansas sports wagering background
Kansas launched its first legal mobile sportsbooks in 2022. Six books now take bets: BetMGM, sports betting 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 metro location to Kansas to bet, with some doing so most or nearly every day of the week.
That could change if Kansas lawmakers overthrow the existing regulatory structure. Sources tell Covers some lawmakers want to increase the state's sports betting wagering tax revenue, among 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 follow Missouri goes cope with as lots of as a dozen books; if Kansas considerably reduces its offerings, it could lead KS wagerers to place bets in MO, the opposite of the present pattern
The modifications might be as basic as a tax boost. It could likewise lead to a sole-source operator sports betting design some legislators are thinking about, one that could generate more direct income for the state however potentially require out some or all of the six existing sportsbooks as soon as their licenses end in Aug. 2027.
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The legislation passed previously this month only puts a prohibition up until 2026, suggesting Kansas' current sportsbooks can take bets until their licenses expire the following year. Lawmakers may not even consider a remarkable modification to the regulative structure when they reconvene for the 2026 session, no perceptible effect for Sunflower State gamblers.
But the license extension prohibition leaves the possibility for significant changes that didn't appear practical weeks earlier.
Missouri sportsbooks prepare to launch
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The Kansas relocation comes as Missouri nears the launch of its legal sportsbooks.
Missouri's multi-year sports betting legalization push ended in Nov. 2024, when citizens directly authorized a tally step to bring legal retail and online sportsbooks to the state. The vote followed years of failed efforts to legislate sports betting in the legislature.
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Missouri's legal sportsbooks are set to start taking bets in the fourth quarter of 2025. There are also set to be almost two times as many betting choices in Missouri as Kansas.
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 when licensed.
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Other books consisting of BetMGM, BetRivers and Underdog likewise revealed launch plans. Bet365 struck a deal with MLB's St. Louis Cardinals and also prepares to accept bets in the state.
Caesars, which opposed the tally procedure over license allocation issues, runs three Missouri gambling establishments and is eligible to introduce its online book in the state. Penn Entertainment (ESPN BET) and Bally's (Bally Bet) also run Missouri gambling establishments that give them instant market access.
Other books consisting of Hard Rock, live in Illinois, could also pursue one of approximately two-dozen possible Missouri sports wagering licenses.
The larger variety of Show Me State betting choices might bring in Kansas bettors in the Kansas City metro area to Missouri to place bets, reversing years of bettor traffic going the opposite direction. This might accelerate if the Sunflower State cuts its sportsbook roster, particularly if DraftKings and/or FanDuel can no longer accept bets.
Missouri citizens in the Kansas City metro were the most ardent supporters of the sports betting ballot procedure, which might underscore residents' interest in positioning bets in their home state when books go live.
Missouri's sports wagering lineup is unsure ahead of the 2025 launch. Kansas' sportsbooks might change too in the ensuing years.
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