Not so fast, Kansas—Attorney General Derek Schmidt has told state lottery officials they’re not ready to go live with sports betting. Schmidt’s office approved three of the proposed regulations, but the others were sent back for adjustments, according to the Associated Press. Those changes were implemented several days later the September opening remains on track.
Kansas lawmakers eliminated oversight from all state agencies except the attorney general’s office, who would report on the regulations.
The state identified “specific shortcomings that must be remedied,” John Milburn, a spokesperson for Schmidt, said in a news release.
“Our initial review has identified significant legal issues with the agency’s proposed regulations,” Milburn said in a statement to FOX4. “Within days, we will be providing our formal feedback to the Lottery and giving them the opportunity to correct the legal deficiencies.”
Without being too specific, returned regulations could involve legal definitions, marketing agreements and advertising rules, for example.
Still, the action came after state officials gave a greenlight for the four state-owned casinos to launch sports wagering on September 1.
That date is set for a soft launch to work out any kinks, with the official debut on September 8, the same day the NFL kicks off its season.
Hollywood Casino is one of the state’s four gaming partners, but they’re not the only ones who may want to cash in.
“Whether Sporting Kansas City, which is the only professional sports team as of now in the state of Kansas, can do it, we don’t know,” Chris Boan, lead writer for Gambling.com, told FOX4. “That wasn’t mentioned in the announcement today either, but you have to imagine they’re going to be in on it as well.”
Bettors can use phone apps to place bets as well, if you are physically in the state.
“So if you’re in Kansas City Missouri, you just have to drive a couple of miles over to Kansas, and you can place a wager on mobile, or you can go to your closest casino in Kansas and bet there at a retail facility.”
Hollywood Casino is the closest casino to Kansas City, Missouri, a state that failed this year in efforts to approve sports betting.
“Missouri had its shot,” Boan said. “They had House Bill 2502. I followed that one as well this spring, which looked like it was going to pass concurrently with Senate Bill 84 in Kansas, and then for a full mess of reasons that never happened, but yeah it’s going to be a massive hit in the wallet for casinos in Missouri you’d have to think.”
