Missouri Sports Betting Launch could Come Before Kansas Sportsbook Changes
Missouri sports bettors have actually crossed into Kansas for almost 3 years to place legal sports betting bets. Three years from now, Kansas homeowners might do the same.
Key takeaways
– Kansas lawmakers halted new sportsbook license extensions up until 2026, meaning possible regulative changes that might affect its 6 legal operators after 2027.
– Missouri is set to launch legal mobile sportsbooks in late 2025, possibly reversing cross-border betting patterns as Kansas wagerers may head east.
– Future modifications in Kansas might include a sole-operator design or tax hikes, impacting competition and motivating gamblers to look for alternatives in Missouri.
Kansas sports wagering background
Kansas released its very first legal mobile sportsbooks in 2022. Six books now take bets: BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, sports betting ESPN BET, Fanatics and FanDuel.
The ability to place legal bets in Kansas brings in gamblers on the Missouri side of the Kansas City city area to Kansas to wager, with some doing so most or almost every day of the week.
That could alter if Kansas lawmakers upend the current regulative structure. Sources inform Covers some legislators want to increase the state’s sports betting tax earnings, 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 market next year will come after Missouri goes deal with as numerous as a lots books; if Kansas dramatically reduces its offerings, it might lead KS gamblers to put bets in MO, sports betting the reverse of the existing pattern
The changes could be as basic as a tax boost. It might also result in a sole-source operator model some legislators are thinking about, one that could produce more direct profits for the state but possibly displace some or all of the 6 existing sportsbooks as soon as their licenses expire in Aug. 2027.
The legislation passed previously this month just positions a restriction until 2026, suggesting Kansas’ current sportsbooks can take bets up until their licenses end the following year. Lawmakers might not even consider a significant change to the regulative structure when they reconvene for the 2026 session, suggesting no noticeable effect for Sunflower State wagerers.
But the license extension prohibition leaves the possibility for dramatic modifications that didn’t seem possible 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 citizens narrowly authorized a tally step to bring legal retail and online sportsbooks to the state. The vote followed years of unsuccessful efforts to legalize sports betting 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 almost twice as many betting options in Missouri as Kansas.
FanDuel and DraftKings contributed more than $30 million to support the tally measure. The 2 U.S. market share leaders have actually, as expected, announced plans to take bets in Missouri as soon as accredited.
Other books including BetMGM, BetRivers and Underdog also plans. Bet365 struck a deal with MLB’s St. Louis Cardinals and also plans to accept bets in the state.
Caesars, which opposed the ballot procedure over license allowance issues, runs 3 Missouri casinos and is eligible to release its online book in the state. Penn Entertainment (ESPN BET) and Bally’s (Bally Bet) also operate Missouri casinos that approve them instant market access.
Other books including Hard Rock, live in Illinois, could likewise pursue among roughly two-dozen prospective Missouri sports wagering licenses.
The wider selection of Show Me State betting alternatives might attract Kansas wagerers in the Kansas City city location to Missouri to place bets, reversing years of gambler traffic going the opposite instructions. 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 betting tally step, which might highlight residents’ interest in putting bets in their home state when books go live.
Missouri’s sports wagering lineup doubts ahead of the 2025 launch. Kansas’ sportsbooks could alter too in the ensuing years.
