Kansas officials hail sports betting market debut
Kansas Lottery confirms 2.4 million bets placed in 10 days following market launch on September 1
Officials from the Kansas Lottery have welcomed the “high enthusiasm” from Sunflower State residents following the launch of the regulated sports betting market on September 1.
The lottery, which was responsible for many of the regulations governing the market, has confirmed that over 2.4 million bets were placed in the state through regulated sportsbooks between September 1 and September 11.
Bettors in the state took home $47m in winnings during the period, with local teams the Kansas City Chiefs and the Kansas City Royals featuring heavily in bets made.
Licensed and live sportsbook operators in the state include Barstool, BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, FanDuel and PointsBet.
Under legislation, each Kansas casino (of which there are currently four) can partner with up to three sports betting operators, however it’s been reported that just six license slots have been taken.
“Congratulations to all of the winners! The Kansas Lottery is excited to continue the growth and development of the sports betting platforms for Kansas players,” a statement from the Kansas Lottery said.
Kansas set a new record in US sports betting when it launched regulated sports betting operations on September 1 in a soft-launch capacity, following this up with a full launch on September 8.
The statewide launch occurred just 115 days after enabling legislation was signed into law by Governor Laura Kelly on August 19.
Initial data published by geolocation firm GeoComply in the wake of the launch highlighted the potential for cross-border betting attempts, with the firm reporting 16,000 attempts made by individuals in neighboring Missouri to place bets between September 1 and September 5.
Of these, 60% of the declined transactions were made by individuals in Kansas City, Missouri, which lies very close to the state border and just three miles from its Kansas-situated namesake.
More than 522,000 geolocation checks were carried out on prospective Kansas sports bettors within the first eight hours of the legal market.