Kansas Sports Betting Market Expected to Cash in on Super Bowl LIX

The influx of Super Bowl LIX betting will be a boon for every market with legal sports wagering. Most are expecting to see record-setting amounts of wagers. But the impact, apparently, will be particularly massive for the Kansas sports betting market.

A variety of factors go into these projections. That includes the past two Super Bowls, both of which featured the Kansas City Chiefs.

Last February, around $1.25 billion was legally bet on the Super Bowl, according to research from Eilers & Krejcik Gaming last year. That number is expected to climb this year. As Doug Greenberg of ESPN writes:

“With 38 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico now offering legal sports betting, more Americans than ever are projected to bet on the biggest wagering event of the year. Legal American sportsbooks could take an estimated $1.39 billion in bets for Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, according to an annual report from the American Gaming Association (AGA).”

As it stands, sportsbooks in the United States are gearing up for an 11.2 percent increase in betting on the Super Bowl. But the estimates for Kansas sports betting should be even higher. In fact, they should be much higher. Allow us to explain why.

Chiefs Remain the Most Popular Team in the Kansas Sports Betting Market

While the Chiefs are located in Missouri, they have a huge following in The Sunflower State. So much so, there has even been talk that state officials will pitch the NFL franchise on relocating to Kansas at some point in the distant future.

Moral of the story: The Chiefs’ popularity is through the roof. This is not a gut feeling or educated guess, either. It is a proven fact. Remember, sports betting in Kansas launched just before the 2023 Super Bowl. So sportsbooks in Kansas have two years’ worth of data showing the impact of the Chiefs’ participation.

“Ninety-five percent of our guests are Chiefs fans,” Tanner Rome, the manager of the Hollywood Casino Sportsbook, previously told KMBC News. “It's no different than if someone had opened a sportsbook in Boston during the Patriots Dynasty and Tom Brady's era.” Rome also said that “his employees took over 30,000 bets on the NFL alone during January.”

This type of volume trend tracks with hometown teams competing in championship events. Granted, it can be tougher to discern when it comes to the Super Bowl. Betting on the NFL is popular throughout every market, regardless of the participating teams. Nevertheless, you will still see a more notable increase in betting volume inside and around the markets of squads in the Super Bowl.

Kansas City’s Pursuit of a Three-Peat is Only Expected to Drive Betting Interest

The Chiefs’ overall popularity in the Kansas sports betting market is definitely the primary driving force of Super Bowl wagering volume. But it’s not the only.

Kansas City has the chance to become the first NFL franchise to win three consecutive Super Bowls. That kind of historical pursuit will also inflate the amount of betting on the game.

Whether sportsbooks in Kansas will welcome this uptick is a separate matter. That may sound ridiculous on its face, but it’s actually more complicated.

Yes, additional foot traffic and higher wagering amounts are supposed to be synonymous with good business. But the vast number of betting in Kansas will favor the Chiefs. That is how fandom works. It isn’t always rational, but those with closer ties to the team are less likely to bet against them.

Well, this logic can come back to bite sportsbooks, financially, when the organization in question is successful. Think about it: When Kansas sportsbooks take in a ton of action on the Chiefs and the team wins, operators are on the hook for paying out winning wagers. So while on-site and online sportsbooks will always take the extra attention and volume, it does not always come with the revenue that many associate with those increases.

At any rate, the Chiefs’ three-peat bid will almost assuredly jack up the volume. Could it also drum up the number of people fading Kansas City at sportsbooks in The Sunflower State, the thinking being that three straight Super Bowl victories is just too much to assume? We’ll have to wait and see.

The Absence of Missouri Sports Betting Still Benefiting Kansas

The final factor to consider for Kansas is the continued absence of sports betting in Missouri. Although The Show-Me State (narrowly) legalized sports wagering this past November, it will not launch until the summer of 2025 at the earliest.

This will greatly benefit the Kansas sports betting market. They are Missouri’s most direct neighbor. And as the popularity of online sports betting in the United States has increased, so have the number of Missourians who bet on sports in Kansas.

Expect the number of people crossing state lines ahead of Super Bowl LIX to reach a fever pitch. In particular, we should see a material inflation in the number of new sports betting accounts created by those who go from Missouri to Kansas. After all, this will be the fifth time since sports betting was legalized in the United States that the Chiefs are participating in the Super Bowl. There will be Missourians just itching to get in on the action for the first time after sitting out so many opportunities. Especially with the looming prospect of a three-peat.

Take a look at this list of the top online sportsbooks so you can find one that works for all of your sports betting needs: