In a recent two-day session, a Special Committee on Federal and State Affairs heard testimony from gaming regulators, sports betting industry representatives and other interested parties, as they consider sports wagering legislation. Committee Chairman state Senator Bud Estes said, “I don’t want to skate on thin ice on something we don’t know anything about. If we start passing legislation for interest groups, we could make a real mess. We need to be educated. I’m not going to let my committee go out and pass a lot of legislation right out of the bag. We need to be smarter before we do it.”
Citing estimates that sports wagering could generate an additional $5 million in tax revenue, Estes said, “It’s not going to build any highways and it’s not going to pay for any schools. It’s not that big of a deal.” State Rep. John Carmichael commented, “It frankly doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. because we talk about regulatory costs, we talk about gambling addiction, we talk about enforcement costs. $5 million? I can’t see that’s justified.”
Carmichael added he’s concerned about how the state will make sure bettors are of legal age if the law allows wagers online or via phone apps. “When you get children 16 years of age watching a football game with in-play gambling going on about whether the next field goal will be to the right or the left, I think we’re going down a very bad road,” Carmichael said.
State Rep. Jan Kessinger, whose sports betting bill failed earlier this year, said he plans to offer new legislation after the committee makes its report, and he also expects the committee to draft its own measures.
Kessinger said he’s seen estimates placing sports betting revenue at $75 million annually, which could allow the state to address foster care , the state pension system and highways, with some funds set aside to help problem gamblers. He added, “It’s premature to guess on the tax rate, but my hope is that it is low enough to encourage participation by players and be profitable for both the vendors and the state. That is not waving a magic wound, boom. It would take a while to get up to speed.”
Kessinger said mobile betting must be “an integral part of the law. The casinos will be major players and my hope is that we can set up something for Lottery Keno social settings to have on-site sports betting also. A big plus for sports betting in social environments is that it will create fun, excitement and a reason to stay at locations serving adult beverages, food and showing televised sports. That creates jobs and increased profits for the business.”
Governor-elect Laura Kelly expressed support for sports betting during her campaign.
