Missouri Sports Betting Launch could Come Before Kansas Sportsbook Changes

Missouri sports bettors have actually crossed into Kansas for almost 3 years to position legal sports betting bets. Three years from now, Kansas residents may do the same.

Key takeaways

– Kansas lawmakers halted brand-new sportsbook license extensions until 2026, hinting at possible regulatory modifications that might impact its 6 legal operators after 2027.

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

– Future changes in Kansas might include a sole-operator design or tax walkings, impacting competitors and sports betting motivating gamblers to seek options in Missouri.

Kansas sports betting background

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

The capability to place legal bets in Kansas brings in gamblers on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metro location to Kansas to wager, with some doing so most or nearly every day of the week.

That might alter if Kansas legislators upend the present regulatory structure. Sources inform Covers some lawmakers want to increase the state’s sports betting tax income, amongst the least expensive per capita of any of the 30 states with statewide legal mobile sportsbooks.

Kansas’ likely reconsideration of its six-book legal sports wagering market next year will come after Missouri goes cope with as numerous as a lots books; if Kansas dramatically reduces its offerings, it might lead KS gamblers to position bets in MO, the opposite of the present pattern

The changes might be as basic as a tax increase. It might likewise result in a sole-source operator sports betting model some legislators are thinking about, one that might produce more direct income for the state however potentially displace some or all of the 6 existing sportsbooks once their licenses expire in Aug. 2027.

The legislation passed earlier this month just positions a prohibition up until 2026, sports betting suggesting Kansas’ current sportsbooks can take bets up until their licenses end the following year. Lawmakers may not even think about a dramatic change to the regulatory structure when they reconvene for the 2026 session, implying no perceptible effect for Sunflower State wagerers.

But the license extension prohibition leaves the possibility for remarkable changes that didn’t appear practical weeks earlier.

Missouri sportsbooks prepare to launch

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 directly approved a ballot procedure to bring legal retail and online sportsbooks to the state. The vote followed years of failed efforts to legislate sports betting wagering in the legislature.

Missouri’s legal sportsbooks are set to start taking bets in the 4th quarter of 2025. There are likewise set to be almost two times as many betting alternatives in Missouri as Kansas.

FanDuel and sports betting DraftKings contributed more than $30 million to support the ballot step. The two U.S. market share leaders have, as anticipated, revealed plans to take bets in Missouri when accredited.

Other books including BetMGM, sports betting BetRivers and Underdog likewise revealed launch plans. Bet365 struck an offer with MLB’s St. Louis Cardinals and also plans to accept bets in the state.

Caesars, which opposed the tally step over license allocation issues, runs three Missouri gambling establishments and is qualified to launch its online book in the state. Penn (ESPN BET) and Bally’s (Bally Bet) likewise operate Missouri casinos that give them immediate market gain access to.

Other books including Hard Rock, live in Illinois, sports betting might also pursue among roughly two-dozen possible Missouri sports betting licenses.

The broader array of Show Me State betting options could draw in Kansas wagerers in the Kansas City city area to Missouri to place bets, reversing years of wagerer traffic going the opposite direction. This could speed up if the Sunflower State reduces its sportsbook lineup, specifically if DraftKings and/or FanDuel can no longer accept bets.

Missouri citizens in the Kansas City city were the most ardent fans of the sports wagering ballot measure, sports betting which could underscore residents’ interest in placing bets in their home state as soon as books go live.

Missouri’s sports wagering lineup is unpredictable ahead of the 2025 launch. Kansas’ sportsbooks might change too in the taking place years.