Kansas sportsbooks may soon be in for a costly reality check.
Ever since The Sunflower State launched sports betting services nearly two years ago, they have essentially been able to capitalize on multiple markets. There are the Kansas sports betting enthusiasts, of course. Beyond that, though, they have been able to bank plenty of revenue off the absence of sports betting in Missouri.
Now, that may all be about to change.
Latest Missouri Sports Betting Development Could Impact Kansas Sportsbooks
On Tuesday, August 13, Missouri officials approved the petition sponsored by local pro sports teams that seeks to put a legal sports betting bill on the November 2024 ballot. While many Missourians are thrilled at the news, Kansas sportsbooks are likely much less ecstatic.
The launch of sports betting in Kansas back on September 1, 2022, proved to be a lifeline for many sports fans in The Show-Me State. As a hotbed for college football, the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs and Major League Baseball’s St. Louis Cardinals, Missouri is home to a robust betting market. However, numerous attempts to legalize sports wagering in the region have failed. Most notably, the initiatives have generally lacked support in the Senate.
So, for basically the past two years, Missourians have relied on Kansa sportsbooks to process their transactions. And they have done so in a number of different ways. Some will travel to one of the retail sportsbooks in The Sunflower State. Others elect to drive across state lines, place wagers with one of the may top online sportsbooks in the United States and the head back home.
That type of business will disappear for Kansas sportsbooks if voters approve the Missouri sports betting bill. And make no mistake, it’s a good amount of business. According to GeoComply, more than 200,000 attempts were made to access Kansas sportsbooks from Missouri during the 2024 Super Bowl Weekend alone.
How Noticeable will the Change in Kansas Sports Betting Revenue Be?
Let’s assume Missouri sports betting gets legalized in 2024. Just how much revenue do Kansas sportsbooks stand to lose?
There is no way to answer this question with absolute certainty. But the folks over at BetKansas have come up with a rough projection:
“Given the multitude of states that have legalized sports betting, Kansas is far from the first one to potentially see a neighboring state join the club. States like Indiana and New Jersey initially benefited from their regional neighbors not approving online sports betting until later. For more than three years, New Jersey drew scores of bettors from New York City until New York online apps went live in January 2022. Indiana capitalized for years as patrons from Ohio and Kentucky crossed over to make their wagers.
“BetKansas.com analyzed the data from Indiana and New Jersey to see what impact launches in larger neighboring states had on their monthly sports betting handles. Not surprisingly, those states did experience initial dips in betting traffic, but the data also indicates the slumps were also short-lived.”
From the looks of things, then, it seems like Kansas sportsbooks will take a hit and eventually rebound. But that raises the question of how.
Continued Rise of Sports Betting Popularity Bodes Well for Kansas Operators
How can Kansas sportsbooks lose a significant amount of revenue only to gain it back? In short: Growth.
Sports betting in the United States continues to be a growth industry. Even markets that legalized it long ago see surges in sports betting handle and sports betting revenue depending on the time of year.
In this case, Kansas sports betting hasn’t been around nearly long enough to have peaked in popularity. There are currently monthly ebbs and flows, but the overall trendline is still pointing up.
Essentially, then, the legalization of Missouri sports betting will just slow the growth rate for Kansas sportsbooks. If they follow the pattern seen elsewhere, their revenue will dip, then begin a gradual climb back to where it was and then eventually surpass previous figures.
That’s not ideal for key stakeholders. But it’s hardly a nightmare scenario. Plus, Kansas sportsbooks always knew this was a possibility. Thirty-eight states now have some form of legal sports betting. Missouri has tried enough times to join the fold that their own legalization is inevitable.
Kansas Sportsbooks May Have a While to Prepare
In the event that The Show Me State green lights sports betting, let’s also not forget plenty of Kansas online sportsbooks will also be seeking licenses in Missouri. Those operators won’t be burned at all by the change.
This is a development that’s more likely to impact brick-and-mortar locations run by the state’s tribes. And again, these operators were fully aware this shift would be a possibility. And on top of that, retail spots aren’t capitalizing on Missouri sports betting nearly as much as online operators.
What’s more, Kansas sportsbooks still have plenty of time to prepare for the addition of Missouri sports betting. The Show Me State could launch their services as late as December 2025, according to the initiative. That gives operators in The Sunflower State more than a year to adjust projections.
And finally, none of this is guaranteed. Missouri sports betting has to pass through the voting population first. Then, only then, do Kansas sportsbooks have to grapple with a new market reality.
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