A new Kansas sports betting bill was introduced in the state Senate on 26 Jan, 2020.
Senate Bill 84 has proposed for the four commercial casinos to be able to open a retail sportsbook each and partner with a max of three online sports betting operators.
This is not the first time that Kansas has looked to legalize sports betting.
However, state legislators were not too keen to lift the ban on sports betting but their views have softened after covid-19. Kansas is in desperate need of new funding and legalizing sports betting will help to ease the deficient in the state budget.
Senate Bill 84 is the first sports betting bill to be introduced in 2021 after previous failed legislation. This bill wants the State Lottery to be the regulator for the sports betting industry. This is a big change from the 2020 sports betting bill which pushed for the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission to be the betting regulator.
This new bill will allow a max of four retail sportsbooks and 12 online sportsbooks. Retail sportsbooks will be taxed at 7.5 percent while online sportsbooks will be subject to a 10 percent betting tax. These tax rates are very low compared to the tax rates of some of the other US states that have legalized sports betting.
Bettors will need to be physically present in Kansas and be over 21 to be eligible to place bets at retail or online sportsbooks. SB 84 does not have any prohibitions against collegiate betting nor does it make any mention of license application or renewal fees. There is provision for a voluntary self-exclusion list to be created to protect vulnerable gamblers.
The Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs introduced SB 84 and will therefore have control over the bill. A discussion on the bill is likely to be held early in Feb. If the initial discussion is favourable, then SB 84 will have to be reviewed by other committees before it gets to the Senate floor for a full vote.
If the Senate votes in favour of SB 84, it will then progress to the House. The House will have to agree on all terms and conditions outlined in SB 84. If this happens, then the bill will move on to Gov. Laura Kelly to sign and turn it into a law. If all goes well, then Kansas should have sports betting up and running in 2021.
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