Efforts to legalize Kansas sports betting stalled March 31. It seems to be a case of too many people with too many ideas.
The Kansas Senate approved sports betting last month. A House committee said no. It still could be revived this year, but supporters doubt it.
“It does stand a strong chance of passing, but will depend on a few key changes,” Rep. Samantha Poetter wrote to Legal Sports Report. “The good news is that it can be brought back up before the session adjourns. The bad news is that we may not have time to work all the issues out with it before then.”
Kansas entered the year as one of the states with a promising outlook, as the Senate pushed a bill forward in 2020 before the Covid-19 shutdown.
Under the Senate version, each casino could open a retail sportsbook and three mobile operators. Sports venues could also partner with a casino for an online sportsbook. The state would tax retail bets at 5.5 percent and online ones at 8 percent.
The lottery predicted more than $600 million would be wagered each year.
Lottery retailers were unhappy with the bill’s direction in both chambers.
“We stand against this bill for one reason: we’re not in it,” Fuel True Executive Director Tom Palace said of the energy and convenience stores.
The House substitute permitted more than 1,000 retailers to take bets on lottery machines. Each of the four casinos was able to partner with one sportsbook operator for an online skin. The state would tax in-person bets at 14 percent and platform wagers at 20 percent.
Last year, Governor Laura Kelly opposed the Senate bill, believing more money would be available going through the lottery. Others withdrew their support after favorite projects were kept from enjoying revenue.
Both bills would ultimately allow for the state’s multiple tribal casinos to also offer sports betting.
In the end, the House, facing a gaggle of competing interests, turned down the legislation.
“We’ll get a chance to take another crack at this, but you’ve got to thread the needle,” said Rep. Stephanie Clayton.
The Senate version, which limits mobile betting to casinos, assumes the gambling halls take all the risk, according to the Associated Press.
The state constitution requires sports betting to be regulated by the Kansas Lottery, which also owns casinos outside of tribal casinos.
Clayton calls the House plan a free-market approach, which includes the hundreds of retailers that sell lottery tickets.
Still other legislators see the bill as a way to jump start the race track industry. The state permits lottery owned slot machines at the tracks.
Then there’s the argument that casino owners could sue the state for violating contracts with the lottery.
Finally, some Democrats want to ban greyhound racing, seeing it as an animal-welfare problem. But the House rejected the idea, costing its sports betting plan additional votes.
