The Kansas Sports Betting Market is Continuing to Grow

The third year of Kansas sports betting is off to a rollicking start.

The Kansas State Lottery, which oversees sports betting, just released their wagering data for October 2024. It is the first report of the third 12-month period for sports betting in Kansas will be legal. And if these returns are any indication, the market is continuing to grow at a pretty sizable rate.

“The Sunflower State’s October sports betting handle rose 10.5 percent year-over-year and set a new monthly record,” CDC Gaming’s Brad Senkiw writes. “The Kansas Lottery reported that $275.9 million was wagered during a big month of NFL, college football, the World Series, and the start of the NBA season.”

This uptick follows big-time returns in September 2024 for the market as well. What is behind the continued ascent of Kansas sports betting? It is starting to seem like online offerings. 

As we keep pointing out on many occasions, online sports betting in the United States remains on the rise as the 2024 calendar year inches toward its close. That makes it critical to continued market growth.

And yet, not every state with legal sports wagering has implemented it on a wide scale. Some do not allow it at all. Others only permit the use of online sports betting apps if you are on sportsbook or casino grounds. This is the setup for sports betting in Wisconsin, to name one example. They only offer sports betting through tribal casinos. Apps are available on a limited basis if you’re already on the premises, and some of the on-site operators don’t even offer apps, period.

These limitations are not placed upon residents in Kansas. 

Online Operators Continue to Dominate Kansas Sports Betting

The Kansas sports betting market has not shied away from online sports betting in the USA. They allowed mobile betting sites into the market essentially from Day 1. And as Senkiw relays, it appears to be paying off in a big way:

“October’s handle eclipsed the previous high of $260.9 million set in November 2023. Sunflower State operators took in 10.9 percent more wagers than in September. October marked the 11th time since sports betting went live in September 2022 that Kansas bettors have wagered more than $200 million. Online sports betting accounted for $266.3 million, up from the $240 million mobile handle from October 2023. Retail sportsbooks also saw a year-over-year and month-over-month increase to $9.6 million in wagers…DraftKings was a big reason why Kansas set a new handle mark. The online sportsbook also took in an all-time high of $122.8 million in wagers, a month after it recorded a handle of $119.3 million, the previous record.”

These numbers can be overwhelming in raw form. But they are necessary to understand the Kansas sports betting landscape. Of the $275.9 million wagered, $260.9 million of that came from online operators. So, this means Kansas online sports betting accounts for over 94.5 percent of all sports betting volume. 

This is a standout market share even by present-day standards. Though online betting sites process a majority of bets made in the USA, the industry average hovers somewhere between 80- and 90-plus percent. Kansas’ online sports betting business outstrips even that high bar. 

This is not a one-month fluke. The September handle hit $248.9 million. Online operators took in $239.5 million. That is 96.2 percent of the handle, so it’s an even bigger share than October.

The Sports Calendar is Driving Lucrative Activity in Kansas

There have been no material changes to Kansas sports betting that would suddenly result in record-setting increases. They still have six licensed online sportsbooks in the state. That makes this a matter of timing.

October, in particular, is a busy time for sports betting in the United States. The NFL season is four to weeks old. College football is even deeper into their schedule. Betting on the MLB World Series is taking place. And, of course, both the NBA and NHL start their regular seasons. All of that drives additional interest in Kansas sports betting. The same logic applies to how the wagering handle fared in September—minus the start of the NHl and NBA schedules.

Still, it will be interesting to see whether this betting-handle growth sticks. Profits, of course, will continue to fluctuate. Revenue, after all, is dependent on how well bettors fare. Sportsbooks in Kansas actually reported less revenue in October despite taking in more bets. This means customers had a higher success rate than normal. 

Betting volume, however, is more dependent on not only the sports calendar, but how well nearby teams are playing. While Kansas does not have any pro franchises in-market, they are a stone’s throw from two currently active teams in Missouri: The Kansas City Chiefs (NFL) and St. Louis Blues (NHL). And while the Blues are off to a discouraging start, the Chiefs are running roughshod over the rest of the NFL. 

Heck, “running roughshod” might be putting it lightly. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs are now the inarguable Super Bowl favorites at nearly every online sportsbook in the United States. If they keep this up, then we would expect the Kansas sports betting market to continue spitting out year over year increases through at least February 2025. 

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: