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Missouri sports bettors have crossed into Kansas for almost three years to place legal sports bets. Three years from now, Kansas residents might do the exact same.

Key takeaways

- Kansas lawmakers stopped sportsbook license extensions until 2026, meaning possible regulatory modifications that could impact its 6 legal operators after 2027.

- Missouri is set to introduce legal mobile sportsbooks in late 2025, potentially reversing cross-border wagering trends as Kansas bettors might head east.
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- Future modifications in Kansas might consist of a sole-operator design or tax hikes, sports betting affecting competition and sports betting motivating wagerers to look for options in Missouri.

Kansas sports betting background

Kansas launched its very first legal mobile sportsbooks in 2022. Six books now take bets: BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, ESPN BET, Fanatics and FanDuel.
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The capability to put legal bets in Kansas attracts bettors on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metro location to Kansas to wager, with some doing so most or almost every day of the week.

That could change if Kansas lawmakers upend the current regulative structure. Sources inform Covers some legislators wish to increase the state's sports betting tax income, amongst the least expensive per capita of any of the 30 states with statewide legal mobile sportsbooks.

Kansas' most likely reconsideration of its six-book legal sports wagering market next year will come after Missouri goes cope with as many as a dozen books; if Kansas dramatically curtails its offerings, it could lead KS wagerers to place bets in MO, sports betting the reverse of the existing pattern

The alterations might be as basic as a tax increase. It might also lead to a sole-source operator design some lawmakers are considering, one that could create more direct earnings for sports betting the state however possibly require out some or all of the 6 existing sportsbooks as soon as their licenses end in Aug. 2027.

The legislation passed earlier this month just puts a prohibition till 2026, indicating Kansas' current sportsbooks can take bets until their licenses expire the following year. Lawmakers might not even think about a remarkable change to the regulative structure when they reconvene for the 2026 session, suggesting no perceptible effect for Sunflower State bettors.

But the license extension prohibition leaves the possibility for dramatic modifications that didn't appear practical weeks earlier.
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Missouri sportsbooks prepare to introduce

The Kansas move comes as Missouri nears the launch of its legal sportsbooks.

Missouri's multi-year sports betting legalization push ended in Nov. 2024, when voters directly approved a tally step to bring legal retail and sports betting online sportsbooks to the state. The vote followed years of failed efforts to legislate sports betting in the legislature.

Missouri's legal sportsbooks are set to start taking bets in the fourth quarter of 2025. There are likewise set to be almost two times as many betting options in Missouri as Kansas.
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FanDuel and DraftKings contributed more than $30 million to support the tally measure. The 2 U.S. market share leaders have, as expected, announced plans to take bets in Missouri when licensed.

Other books consisting of BetMGM, BetRivers and Underdog likewise announced launch plans. Bet365 struck a handle MLB's St. Louis Cardinals and sports betting likewise plans to accept bets in the state.

Caesars, which opposed the ballot measure over license allowance issues, operates 3 Missouri gambling establishments and is eligible to introduce its online book in the state. Penn Entertainment (ESPN BET) and Bally's (Bally Bet) likewise operate Missouri gambling establishments that approve them instant market access.

Other books including Acid rock, sports betting reside in Illinois, might likewise pursue among roughly two-dozen prospective Missouri sports wagering licenses.
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The broader selection of Show Me State wagering options could bring in Kansas bettors in the Kansas City city area to Missouri to place bets, reversing years of gambler traffic going the opposite instructions. This could speed up if the Sunflower State reduces its sportsbook lineup, especially if DraftKings and/or FanDuel can no longer accept bets.
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Missouri citizens in the Kansas City metro were the most ardent supporters of the sports betting ballot measure, which might underscore citizens' interest in putting bets in their home state as soon as books go live.

Missouri's sports betting lineup is unsure ahead of the 2025 launch. Kansas' sportsbooks might change too in the ensuing years.
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