The Kansas legislature is adjourned until April 25, when the state Senate is expected to take up SB 84, which would legalize mobile and retail sports betting in the state.
The House voted 63-49 to advance a final version of the measure on April 2, after a conference committee agreed to changes. The Senate did not take up the bill before lawmakers adjourned for a 3-week veto break. Actually, the Kansas University Jayhawks’ national championship run prevented votes before the recess, since so many legislators traveled to New Orleans for the Final Four.
In a surprise move, the measure earmarks 80 percent of state tax revenue from sports wagering to a special fund for financing a professional sports facility. That provision was slipped into the package negotiated at the request of House leadership, as Kansas City Chiefs officials continue to evaluate proposals to build a National Football League stadium on the Kansas side of the state line with Missouri.
Following approval in the Senate, Governor Laura Kelly is expected to sign the bill. She recently told reporters, “I know so many people who go to Iowa every weekend to bet on sports. I’d like for them to stay here and spend their money in the state of Kansas.”
The Senate passed its sports wagering measure last year, and the House advanced its version March 30. Both proposals legalized retail and mobile sports betting through the state’s four casinos, with three skins each. The final version hammered out in the conference committee includes a 10 percent tax on both mobile and retail wagering revenue and allows casinos to partner with up to 50 retailers. Also, a casino can request an additional online skin in partnership with a major league sports team; in Kansas, that would be Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer.
The Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission would regulate sports betting. The bill allows wagering on professional and collegiate sporting events, so Kansas University fans could bet on the National Collegiate Athletics Association National Champion Jayhawks.
In addition, Native American tribes, which own six casinos in Kansas, would be allowed to amend their gaming compacts to include sports wagering.
The Kansas Lottery estimated legalized sports betting could generate $10 million annually for the state by 2025.
