In Kansas, state Rep. Jan Kessinger’s bill to legalize sports betting didn’t go anywhere. But he plans to re-introduce the measure in the next session, but with a new twist: allowing sports betting at bars that offer Keno through the Kansas Lottery. “I think one of the keys to the success of sports betting in Kansas would be to make it accessible widespread. Some people say, ‘Oh, let`s just have it at the casinos.’ You can`t have sports betting at just four locations in Kansas,” Kessinger said.
He added his bill also would allow mobile betting. “In Thursday night’s game, Derek Carr — is his first play going to be a pass or is it going to be a run? That`s an in-game bet that’s something that needs to be addressed and considered do we allow that or not,” Kessinger said.
Sports betting could generate an estimated $75 million annually, Kessinger stated. “That`s $75 million to the state where they could add it to education, put it to the highway fund. We could fix the foster care system. A lot of things we could do with that,” Kessinger said. He noted if his bill passes, legal sports betting could be allowed in Kansas as soon as July 1, 2019.
