Missouri sports bettors have crossed into Kansas for nearly 3 years to put legal sports bets. Three years from now, Kansas homeowners might do the exact same.
Key takeaways
- Kansas lawmakers stopped brand-new sportsbook license extensions up until 2026, hinting at possible regulative modifications that could affect its six legal operators after 2027.
- Missouri is set to introduce legal mobile sportsbooks in late 2025, possibly reversing cross-border betting patterns as Kansas wagerers may head east.
- Future modifications in Kansas could include a sole-operator design or tax hikes, affecting competitors and motivating gamblers to seek options in Missouri.
Kansas sports betting background
Kansas introduced its very first legal mobile sportsbooks in 2022. Six books now take bets: BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, ESPN BET, Fanatics and FanDuel.
The ability to put legal bets in Kansas attracts bettors on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metro area to Kansas to wager, with some doing so most or nearly every day of the week.
That could change if Kansas lawmakers upend the current regulatory structure. Sources tell Covers some legislators wish to increase the state's sports wagering tax revenue, amongst the most affordable per capita of any of the 30 states with statewide legal mobile sportsbooks.
Kansas' likely reconsideration of its six-book legal sports betting market next year will come after Missouri goes cope with as numerous as a dozen books; if Kansas dramatically cuts its offerings, it might lead KS wagerers to put bets in MO, sports betting the opposite of the current pattern
The modifications might be as simple as a tax increase. It might also result in a sole-source operator design some legislators are considering, one that might produce more direct revenue for the state however possibly displace some or all of the 6 existing sportsbooks once their licenses end in Aug. 2027.
The legislation passed earlier this month only positions a restriction till 2026, suggesting Kansas' existing sportsbooks can take bets until their licenses end the following year. Lawmakers may not even think about a remarkable change to the regulatory structure when they reconvene for the 2026 session, indicating no perceptible effect for Sunflower State wagerers.
But the license extension prohibition leaves the possibility for remarkable changes that didn't appear feasible weeks earlier.
Missouri sportsbooks prepare to introduce
The Kansas move comes as Missouri nears the launch of its legal sportsbooks.
Missouri's multi-year sports betting 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 legalize sports betting 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 two times as lots of wagering choices in Missouri as Kansas.
FanDuel and DraftKings contributed more than $30 million to support the tally measure. The two U.S. market share leaders have, as expected, revealed strategies to take bets in Missouri as soon as licensed.
Other books including BetMGM, BetRivers and Underdog also announced launch strategies. Bet365 struck a handle MLB's St. Louis Cardinals and likewise prepares to accept bets in the state.
Caesars, which opposed the ballot measure over license allotment issues, operates 3 Missouri gambling establishments and is eligible to release its online book in the state. Penn Entertainment (ESPN BET) and Bally's (Bally Bet) likewise operate Missouri gambling establishments that give them immediate market gain access to.
Other books consisting of Acid rock, reside in Illinois, might also pursue one of approximately two-dozen potential Missouri sports betting licenses.
The larger variety of Show Me State wagering choices could draw in Kansas gamblers in the Kansas City city area to Missouri to place 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 metro were the most ardent supporters of the sports betting ballot procedure, which might underscore citizens' interest in positioning bets in their home state when books go live.
Missouri's sports wagering lineup doubts ahead of the 2025 launch. Kansas' sportsbooks might change too in the taking place years.
