BY: ANNA KAMINSKI
Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — Approval of a last-minute addition to Kansas’ state budget took the gambling and sports betting sphere by surprise, leaving the future of the industry in the state uncertain.
The Kansas Legislature Friday passed the state budget bill, which included a provision that bans the Kansas Lottery, the agency that oversees gambling in the state, from spending state money to negotiate any renewals, extensions or new contracts with sports wagering operators until July 2026.
Jeremy Kudon, a lobbyist who had a hand in ushering in gambling’s new era of sports wagering in the United States, took to the social media platform X to assure bettors that their online sports betting operators would remain in Kansas — for now.
“Just want to clarify: None of the leading OSB operators in Kansas will go dark as a result of today’s vote,” Kudon wrote in a post.
Most contracts with the state lottery are valid until 2027, he said.
“But I wouldn’t let the Kansas legislature off so easy. They had no idea when these contracts expired and were willing to take your favorite OSB apps away from Kansans. We’re not going to let that happen,” Kudon wrote.
Kansans over 21 years old can bet on badminton, bull riding and 50 other categories of live and virtual sports. Since 2022, after the passage of Senate Bill 84, the state recruited six sports wager operators: BetMGM, Caesar’s, DraftKings, ESPNBet, FanDuel and Fanatics. Each of those contracts, which include retail and mobile betting, are set to expire at the same time in August 2027.
Historically, the Kansas Lottery negotiated the contracts and went through an approval process with the Kansas Attorney General’s Office.
The Legislature’s moratorium, which will apply to fiscal years 2025 and 2026, could open up Kansas’ sports betting market to new regulations or more influence from state lawmakers if they decide to take up the issue in the 2026 session. Among possible changes, one option is an increase in the share of money the state collects from sports wagering revenues. The state currently collects 10% of all revenue from both mobile and retail platforms.
Sports wagering is legal in 39 states and the District of Columbia. Missouri voters narrowly approved in November a constitutional amendment to legalize sports betting online, in casinos and in certain districts near major sports arenas. The rollout was scheduled for this summer, but the state has delayed it until the fall to allow for time to straighten out licensing rules.
Legalized gambling in Kansas dates back to 1986, when more than 60% of voters approved a constitutional amendment to establish a state-run lottery. A year later, the Legislature passed the Kansas Lottery Act.
The Legislature this year authorized a gaming compact between the governor’s office and the Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska to allow sports betting at the Sac & Fox Casino in Powhattan. In 2024, the Legislature approved a sports betting compact for the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska’s White Cloud Casino in White Cloud and did the same in 2023 for the Prairie Band Casino Resort in Mayetta, which is owned by the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation.