Missouri sports gamblers have crossed into Kansas for nearly 3 years to put legal sports bets. Three years from now, Kansas locals might do the exact same.

Key takeaways

- Kansas lawmakers halted new sportsbook license extensions up until 2026, hinting at possible regulative modifications that could affect its 6 legal operators after 2027.

- Missouri is set to release legal mobile sportsbooks in late 2025, possibly reversing cross-border betting trends as Kansas wagerers may head east.

- Future modifications in Kansas might consist of a sole-operator design or tax hikes, affecting competition and motivating bettors to look for alternatives in Missouri.

Kansas sports betting background

Kansas released its first legal mobile sportsbooks in 2022. Six books now take bets: BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, ESPN BET, Fanatics and FanDuel.

The ability to put legal bets in Kansas brings in bettors on the Missouri side of the Kansas City city location to Kansas to wager, with some doing so most or almost every day of the week.

That could change if Kansas legislators upend the present regulatory structure. Sources inform Covers some legislators wish to increase the state's sports wagering tax profits, among the least expensive per capita of any of the 30 states with statewide legal mobile sportsbooks.

Kansas' likely reconsideration of its six-book legal sports wagering market next year will follow Missouri goes live with as many as a lots books; if Kansas considerably reduces its offerings, it might lead KS wagerers to put bets in MO, the reverse of the present pattern

The modifications might be as easy as a tax increase. It might likewise result in a sole-source operator design some lawmakers are thinking about, one that might produce more direct earnings for the state however possibly force out some or all of the six existing sportsbooks when their licenses expire in Aug. 2027.

The legislation passed previously this month just puts a restriction up until 2026, suggesting Kansas' existing sportsbooks can take bets until their licenses expire the list below year. Lawmakers may not even consider a significant change to the regulatory structure when they reconvene for the 2026 session, meaning no perceptible effect for sports betting Sunflower State gamblers.

But the license extension prohibition leaves the possibility for significant modifications that didn't seem feasible weeks back.

Missouri sportsbooks prepare to launch

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 citizens narrowly authorized a ballot step to bring legal retail and online sportsbooks to the state. The vote followed years of failed efforts to legislate sports betting wagering in the legislature.

Missouri's legal sportsbooks are set to start taking bets in the fourth quarter of 2025. There are also set to be almost two times as many betting choices in Missouri as Kansas.

FanDuel and DraftKings contributed more than $30 million to support the ballot step. The 2 U.S. market share leaders have, as anticipated, announced strategies to take bets in Missouri when certified.

Other books including BetMGM, BetRivers and Underdog also announced launch strategies. Bet365 struck a deal with MLB's St. Louis Cardinals and also prepares to accept bets in the state.

Caesars, which opposed the ballot measure over license allowance concerns, operates 3 Missouri gambling establishments and is eligible to launch its online book in the state. Penn Entertainment (ESPN BET) and Bally's (Bally Bet) likewise run Missouri casinos that give them immediate market gain access to.

Other books including Acid rock, reside in Illinois, might likewise pursue one of roughly two-dozen potential Missouri sports betting licenses.

The broader selection of Show Me State betting choices could attract Kansas gamblers in the Kansas City city area to Missouri to put bets, reversing years of wagerer traffic going the opposite direction. This could accelerate if the Sunflower State cuts its sportsbook lineup, specifically if DraftKings and/or FanDuel can no longer accept bets.

Missouri voters in the Kansas City metro were the most ardent fans of the sports betting tally measure, which could highlight citizens' interest in positioning bets in their home state as soon as books go live.

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