Missouri Sports Betting Launch might Come Before Kansas Sportsbook Changes

Missouri sports gamblers have crossed into Kansas for almost 3 years to place legal sports betting bets. Three years from now, Kansas locals may do the exact same.

Key takeaways

– Kansas legislators stopped brand-new sportsbook license extensions up until 2026, hinting at possible regulatory changes that could affect its 6 legal operators after 2027.

– Missouri is set to release legal mobile sportsbooks in late 2025, potentially reversing cross-border wagering trends as Kansas gamblers might head east.

– Future modifications in Kansas might consist of a sole-operator design or tax walkings, impacting competition and encouraging wagerers to look for alternatives in Missouri.

Kansas sports betting background

Kansas introduced its very first legal mobile sportsbooks in 2022. Six books now take bets: BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, ESPN BET, Fanatics and FanDuel.

The ability to position legal bets in Kansas attracts gamblers on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metro area to Kansas to wager, with some doing so most or almost every day of the week.

That might alter if Kansas lawmakers upend the current regulative structure. Sources tell Covers some legislators wish to increase the state’s sports betting wagering tax income, among the most affordable per capita of any of the 30 states with statewide legal mobile sportsbooks.

Kansas’ likely reconsideration of its six-book legal sports betting wagering market next year will come after Missouri goes cope with as numerous as a lots books; if Kansas drastically cuts its offerings, it could lead KS wagerers to put bets in MO, the opposite of the existing pattern

The alterations might be as simple as a tax increase. It could likewise lead to a sole-source operator design some lawmakers are thinking about, one that might produce more direct income for the state but possibly displace some or all of the six existing sportsbooks once their licenses expire in Aug. 2027.

The legislation passed earlier this month only places a restriction up until 2026, implying Kansas’ existing sportsbooks can take bets up until their licenses expire the list below year. Lawmakers may not even think about a remarkable modification to the regulative structure when they reconvene for sports betting the 2026 session, indicating no noticeable impact for Sunflower State bettors.

But the license extension prohibition leaves the possibility for significant modifications that didn’t seem possible weeks ago.

Missouri sportsbooks prepare to introduce

The Kansas move comes as Missouri nears the launch of its legal sportsbooks.

Missouri’s multi-year sports betting legalization push ended in Nov. 2024, when voters narrowly approved a tally step to bring legal retail and online sportsbooks to the state. The vote followed years of unsuccessful efforts to legalize sports wagering in the legislature.

Missouri’s legal sportsbooks are set to begin taking bets in the 4th quarter of 2025. There are also set to be nearly twice as many betting alternatives in Missouri as Kansas.

FanDuel and DraftKings contributed more than $30 million to support the ballot procedure. The two U.S. market share leaders have actually, as expected, announced strategies to take bets in Missouri as soon as certified.

Other books consisting of BetMGM, BetRivers and likewise announced launch plans. Bet365 struck a handle MLB’s St. Louis Cardinals and also plans to accept bets in the state.

Caesars, which opposed the ballot step over license allotment concerns, runs three Missouri casinos and is eligible to launch its online book in the state. Penn Entertainment (ESPN BET) and Bally’s (Bally Bet) also operate Missouri casinos that grant them immediate market gain access to.

Other books consisting of Hard Rock, live in Illinois, could likewise pursue one of approximately two-dozen prospective Missouri sports wagering licenses.

The larger array of Show Me State wagering choices could draw in Kansas wagerers in the Kansas City metro area to Missouri to position bets, reversing years of wagerer traffic going the opposite instructions. This could speed up if the Sunflower State cuts its sportsbook lineup, especially if DraftKings and/or FanDuel can no longer accept bets.

Missouri citizens in the Kansas City metro were the most ardent fans of the sports wagering tally procedure, which might underscore citizens’ interest in positioning bets in their home state when books go live.

Missouri’s sports betting wagering lineup doubts ahead of the 2025 launch. Kansas’ sportsbooks could change too in the ensuing years.