Kansas has taken a significant step towards legalizing sports betting after SB 283 passed through the Senate in a 23-15 vote. The bill would permit online and retail sports wagering across the state. It narrowly beat the chamber crossover deadline of Thursday and it now heads to the House, which is also poised to scrutinize a rival sports wagering bill in March.

SB 283 would require online operators to pay a 10% revenue tax and retail sportsbooks would pay a 7.5% tax. It would allow the four privately owned casinos to launch brick and mortar sportsbooks, while each one could have two online books tied to its license. That would cap the number of online sportsbooks at eight. A fiscal note from the Kansas Division of the Budget predicts that the annual handle would be between $360 million to $600 million for the first few years.

That is pretty modest when you consider that Nevada and New Jersey regularly go past $500 million in a single month, but Kansas has a relatively small population compared to New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Illinois, and it does not contain a gambling mecca like Las Vegas. It also does not contain a team from the NFL, NBA, MLB or NHL, although there are some big college teams, an MLS team, and a NASCAR track, while the Kansas City Chiefs are just over the border in Missouri.

1. This was rare for a gambling bill in the state, according to Sen. Jeff Longbine, carrier of the bill. The Senate passed the bill through by a voice vote. The state voted to allow both on-site casino betting and mobile betting. The state is asking to get 5.5% of on-site casino revenue and 8% of the mobile betting revenue.
2. Kansas is one step closer to legalizing sports betting after the Senate passed SB 283 by a 23-15 margin. The bill would legalize betting both online and at retail locations. It would tax the.
3. The Kansas Senate has voted through a bill that would legalise land-based and certain forms of online sports wagering in the US state. Senate Bill 283 passed by a vote of 23-15 and is now set to move forward to the state’s House of Representatives for further debate and discussion.
4. Kevin Fowler then provided testimony on behalf of the Kansas Star Casino and the Kansas Crossing Casino in opposition to HB2032 (Attachment 5). If Kansas is interested in authorizing sports wagering, this bill is one of the surest ways to guarantee that that will not happen.

The Division of the Budget said that handle might increase to $900 million after five years. “It certainly put us in a position where we can establish sports gaming in Kansas and pull, hopefully pull, wagers from a black market, off-shore, unregulated, untaxed market and bring it into Kansas under a regulated, safe market,” said Senate Vice President Jeff Longbine, a Republican from eastern Kansas.

He was the main proponent of sports betting during the four-hour Senate debate, which ultimately resulted in a favorable vote. Senate President Susan Wagle successfully added on an amendment that would divert 2% of revenue towards addiction treatment. She said that 54,000 Kansans have a gambling problem.

Kansas Gambling Bill

The Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission also would be involved. In the House, a rival sports gambling bill would go far beyond legislation in the Senate by allowing as many as 1,200 licensed retailers to participate in the emerging sports betting industry in Kansas.

It would need to gain House approval before it could be sent to the desk of Gov. Laura Kelly to be signed into law. Yet the House is due to debate a rival bill filed by Rep. John Barker, a Republican from a central Kansas who chairs a special committee on federal and state affairs. Barker said his proposal would give the state a larger share of the sports betting revenue.

Oklahoma Gambling Bill

Kansas Sports Betting Bill

It would also permit hundreds of retail stores that sell lottery tickets to accept simple sports wagers, significantly expanding the size of the market. “We thought we would spread it out,” Barker said. “You could be able to go down and buy a lottery ticket and bet on the K-State-KU game, hopefully buy a loaf of bread and 10 gallons of gas or whatever and go home.”