Officials Admit Kansas Sports Betting will be Impacted by Missouri Legalization

Officials from The Sunflower State are bracing for the impact Missouri sports betting legalization will have on the Kansas sports betting market.

Many have speculated about what will happen when The Show-Me State launches sports gambling. Ever since sports betting in Kansas launched more than two years ago, residents from Missouri have crossed state lines to place their wagers, sometimes in droves. Surely, as we have covered here, there will be repercussions for such a big demographic effectively being taken off the board.

Still, the degree to which this concern existed inside local government has remained unclear. Like we said, informal speculation has ruled the day. 

But not anymore. 

Thinking that Kansas Sports Betting Will Not be Affected by Missouri Legalization is ‘Naive’

Adam Proffitt, who serves as secretary of the Kansas Department of Administration and as budget director under Governor Laura Kelly, is on record as admitting the state’s gaming revenue will now sway. As Tim Carpenter of the Kansas Reflector writes:

“[Proffitt] said adoption of the Missouri amendment [will] carve into cross-border betting by Missouri residents. He didn’t offer an estimate of the revenue shift. ‘I would be naive to say that it wouldn’t have any impact,’ he says. ‘We’d like to keep that money in Kansas…I live in the Kansas City metro and on some Sunday mornings, about 11:30, if I drive toward State Line (Road), there’s a host of cars literally lined up on the Kansas side — they’re on their phones placing bets on football games.’”

Granted, this is anecdotal evidence. We do not have concrete numbers on just how much Kansas sports betting depends on business from Missourians. And yet, even without a specific measurement, you understand that at least some of the state’s bottom line be dragged down, however slight or significant. 

Here is the thing: Kansas cannot technically do anything about it. The amendment that legalizes sports betting in Missouri is now a law. And while The Sunflower State has time before a neighboring rival market joins the fold, The Show-Me State will launch sports betting no later than December 2025.

At that point, Kansas can really only wait and see just how much they’re impacted by the Missouri sports betting launch. And it may take months, or even years, to understand just how minor or major the effect becomes. 

One thing’s for certain, though: If the current returns for Kansas sports betting are any indication, the stakes are high.

Sports Betting is a Lucrative Business in The Sunflower State

In the two-plus years since Kansas online sports betting has gone live, the revenue reports have largely continued to climb. As Carpenter notes in his piece:

“In [over] two years of government-sanctioned sports wagering in Kansas, the state has drawn $18.2 million in tax revenue. Tax in Kansas during August was $657,000, an increase from $484,000 in August 2023. Gambling platforms authorized to operate in Kansas have documented revenue of $182 million on $4.1 billion in wagering since launching in 2022.”

Essentially, this amounts to Kansas sports betting generating more than $9 million per year in revenue for the state. If even 5 percent of that comes from Missourians, the state will feel it. 

On the bright side, though, the Kansas sports betting market is far from peaking. For starters, online sports betting in the United States only continues to grow in popularity. There will be organic year over year increases among Kansans. That can help offset some of the revenue lost to Missouri.

What’s more, we have to take in The Sunflower State’s sports betting timeline. Markets in new launches sometimes don’t maximize earning potential. During the first year, sometimes two, sportsbooks offer ultra-aggressive bonuses and promotions. The goal is to expand their clientele base for the long haul. In most cases, these specials involve a ton of bonus money and free bets. And states tend to let online USA sportsbooks write off those promotions. And those write-offs can add up when you’re offering such a high volume of bonuses. 

Ergo, Kansas online sportsbooks are likely paying less than expected in Taxes during Year 1 and, probably, Year 2. The current year, which is Year 3, may be a better gauge of what’s to come. Speaking of which…

Kansas Seems Well-Positioned to Increase Betting Revenue in Year 3

Year 3 of Kansas sports betting began this past September. In the three months of revenue data we have available since, we can see sports reported a combined revenue of $81.9 million. Let’s now compare that to the same time periods in previous years.

During the first year of online sports betting in Kansas, operators reported $59.7 million in revenue over the first three months. Then, in Year 2, this number climbed to $61.6 million. That comes out to a roughly 3.2 percent increase. 

To start Year 3, however, Kansas sportsbooks are enjoying a whopping 34.6 percent increase. That is a gargantuan uptick. And it may speak volumes about what’s to follow.

Some people will chalk the increase up to betting on the NFL being so popular during these months. That is half-true. These are, in fact, the most popular months for NFL betting. But NFL betting in Kansas was also around last year. And the year before that.

More likely than anything, we are seeing exponential growth in the market following the bonus-heavy stretch. And if that is the case, Kansas may not have to worry about the launch of Missouri sports betting significantly knifing into their bottom line.

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: