A bill that would authorise sports betting, as well as historical horse racing machines, in Kansas has been sent to the state governor for approval.
The bill, titled Senate Bill 84, would include sports betting under Kansas’ expanded Lottery Act and historical horse racing machines under the Kansas Parimutuel Racing Act.
It was first introduced on January 26 2021, and has been the subject of many referrals and amendments since.
It was initially passed in the state Senate in March 2021. However, it did not get to a vote in the House in 2021.
One year later the bill was referred to the Committee on Federal and State Affairs and continued to progress.
After the House and Senate proposed different versions of the bill, a conference committee was formed to reconcile the differences. The version of the bill approved by this committee was passed by the House in a 73-49 vote and by the Senate with a margin of 21 votes to 13.
On 6 May, 2022 the Senate presented the bill to governor Laura Kelly for consideration.
If passed into law the bill will allow lottery facility managers to operate sports betting in Kansas, on behalf of the state lottery. The lottery facility managers can then partner with online sports betting operators.
Sports venues in Kansas will also be able to host retail sportsbooks.
It will also establish the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission, which will regulate sports betting and horse racing activities in the state. This will involve issuing interactive sports betting licenses and sports wagering supplier licenses to those that meet the pre-decided requirements.
The vast majority, at 80%, of sports wagering revenue collected by the state will go towards building a new stadium to attract further professional sports teams to the state of Kansas. The Kansas City Chiefs of the NFL and Kansas City Royals of MLB play just outside of the state of Kansas, in Kansas City, Missouri.
