A sports betting bill has been introduced to Kansas by the Senate’s Committee on Federal & State Affairs.
As part of this, licensed casinos would be able to offer online sports wagering.
Details of the bill
Senate Bill 283 was discussed in hearings on January 29th and 30th. Should it come into law, casinos would be permitted to offer two online sports betting skins.
In addition to this, these brands will be able to offer the vertical at their brick-and-mortar outlets.
Should either one or zero operators opt for online offerings within two years of the bill coming into play, the state lottery will be able to do this.
Sporting venues in Kansas will also be able to partner with a licensed brand to create gambling facilities. Something similar has been seen in other states, such as New York, where DraftKings recently grew its partnership with Madison Square Gardens.
Restrictions to betting at sports venues
Kansas’ sporting venues would differ from New York in a couple of key ways. When they set up places to bet, such activities will be restricted to online.
Another limitation is that only arenas that have a minimum investment of $50 million can offer such a service. So, only two venues would be able to offer this right now – the Kansas Speedway and Mercy Park, which is home to MLS outfit Sporting KC.
No licence fee was mentioned in the bill, though this could be set by the Kansas Lottery Commission. Advertising rules will also be revealed at a later date, if sports betting ends up being legalised.
Tribal gaming has also been included in SB 283. If a federally-recognised Indian tribe wants to negotiate a gaming compact including sports betting, then the Governor must negotiate this “in good faith”.
Some brands have already made moves to make a mark in the Kansas market, should it go live. PointsBet entered an exclusive agreement with Kansas Crossing Casino, providing it with access to sports betting if legislation goes through.
