Sports betting in Kansas begins Sept. 1

TOPEKA, Kan. (KWCH) – Update: The Kansas Attorney General’s Office reports completing review of proposed regulations form the Kanas Lottery concerning sports betting in the state. The AG’s office said it approved three regulations and returned others to the Kansas Lottery, “identifying specific shortcomings that must be remedied.” Kansas Attorney General’s Office Public Information Officer John Milburn issued the following statement:

“By law, the attorney general’s office is required to review proposed regulations written by state agencies to ensure they conform with the law as enacted by the Legislature. Ordinarily, proposed regulations must be reviewed by the Division of the Budget, the Department of Administration, and the Office of the Attorney General, but the Legislature specifically exempted sports wagering regulations from Department of Administration review and Division of Budget review but still required approval by the attorney general. Thus, in this case, the attorney general’s office is the only reviewer that can identify errors committed by the agencies in the hurried drafting of regulations that affect millions of dollars in wagering activity, and we take that responsibility seriously.

The attorney general’s office has completed its expedited, but thorough, review of the several proposed regulations from the Kansas Lottery related to sports wagering and has approved three of those regulations and returned the others to the Kansas Lottery identifying specific shortcomings that must be remedied. We look forward to the Lottery quickly resolving these legal problems and resubmitting the regulations.”

You can see the attorney general’s response to the Kansas Lottery below:

Sportsbooks at Kansas’ four state-owned casinos can begin accepting wagers in person and on mobile platforms starting September 1, 2022, Governor Laura Kelly announced on Thursday. They will officially open on September 8.

Sports wagering, like all gaming in Kansas, is owned by the state and operated by the Kansas Lottery. Under temporary rules and regulations, the state’s four casino gaming partners can begin launching sports betting just in time for the first professional football game on September 8.

The four casinos contracted with the state to offer sports wagering through independent platforms are Boot Hill Casino & Resort; Ford County near Dodge City; Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane; Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, KS; and Kansas Crossing Casino & Hotel in Pittsburg.

Tribal casinos are also working to align on contracts with the State of Kansas for sports wagering. These casinos will be authorized to launch as soon as they are ready.

“Legalizing sports betting is a common-sense solution that keeps Kansans’ money in Kansas and drives business to sporting events, casinos, restaurants, and other entertainment venues,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “I want to thank all our partners for working with us to get this done in time for football season.”

Operators are being granted a one-year provisional license based on past performance in other states. The platforms that have been granted contracts will be announced soon.

Kansans will be able to use any state-approved platforms within the geographic boundaries of the state.

“This announcement represents a lot of hard work and collaboration between the Kansas Lottery, the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission, our casino and tribal partners,” Stephen Durrell, Executive Director of the Kansas Lottery, said. “The process to bring this to fruition has moved at an unbelievable pace. We are excited to be bringing sports betting to Kansas players and adding more fun and exciting play options to the Sunflower State.”

“We’re pretty excited to have all this happen. There’s still some things that have to take place,” said Kansas Gaming Commission Sports Wagering Director Todd Allen. “There’s some equipment testing. We still have internal controls that we’re working on.”

Once it launches, anyone within the state of Kansas will be able to make sports wagers by either making a bet at one of the four state-owned casinos in Kansas or online by using a sports-wagering app.

Brandt Iden, Head of Government Affairs for Sportradar, said Kansas is in a position to benefit from this launch.

“I think that this is going to be a huge boom for Kansas, even bigger than anticipated and one of the key reasons that I feel that way is because of that Kansas City market,” said Iden. “You’re going to see a lot of folks that are in Missouri that are going to cross over to get their wagers in. This is going to be fantastic to see for the entirety of the NFL season and there’s going to be a lot of revenue to be captured in Kansas from this.”

The attorney general’s office reported receiving the betting regulation drafted by the Kansas Lottery on Aug. 10 and proposed regulations from the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission Wednesday, Aug. 17. The AG’s office provided the following response.

In May, Governor Kelly signed Senate Bill 84, bipartisan legislation legalizing sports wagering in Kansas on mobile apps, in casinos, and other specific venues. SB 84 allows venues such as restaurants and nonprofit fraternal or veteran organizations to hold sports wagering. SB 84 preserves tribal sovereignty, allowing the negotiation of a new or existing gaming compact regarding sports wagering.

“We’re pretty excited to have all this happen. There’s still some things that have to take place,” said Kansas Gaming Commission Sports Wagering Director Todd Allen. “There’s some equipment testing. We still have internal controls that we’re working on.”

Once it launches, anyone within the state of Kansas will be able to make sports wagers by either making a bet at one of the four state-owned casinos in Kansas or online by using a sports-wagering app.

The attorney general’s office reported receiving the betting regulation drafted by the Kansas Lottery on Aug. 10 and proposed regulations from the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission Wednesday, Aug. 17. The AG’s office provided the following response.

“The role of the Office of the Attorney General in reviewing regulations for legality is established in K.S.A. 74-8710(a) and Sections 25 and 36 of House Substitute for Substitute for Senate Bill No. 84; in general, our responsibility is to ensure an agency’s proposed regulations are within the authority granted by law and are not contrary to any statutory or other legal requirements. The review of regulations for legality varies considerably from regulation to regulation depending on the complexity of the regulations and the underlying statutory authority and the ease with which any potential issues can be resolved.

We are aware of the urgency in this matter and have expedited and nearly completed initial review of the proposed regulations from the Kansas Lottery. Our initial review has identified significant legal issues with the agency’s proposed regulations. Within days, we will be providing our formal feedback to Lottery and giving them the opportunity to correct the legal deficiencies. We intend to approve these regulations as soon as the agency fixes the legal problems in their initial version. Our initial review of the proposed regulations from KRGC has begun and is also being expedited.”

The Kansas Lottery Commission has released a video to explain this announcement and other recent updates in sports wagering. That video is available for media use here.

Additional information about sports wagering can be found on the KRGC website at krgc.ks.gov.

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