The Kansas Lottery reported a total handle of $203 million for February, which is the lowest since sports betting in Kansas only amassed a $94.4 million handle in August 2023.
Although February’s $203 million figure is a year-over-year increase from February 2023’s $194 million, it’s a month-over-month decline from the $239.6 million in wagers for January and is at a lower number for the third straight month. November set the high-water mark for handle in 2023 with $260.9 million and December just narrowly missed that mark with $259.6 million.
Sportsbooks in Kansas claimed just over $3 million in February revenue, a massive YoY revenue spike compared to the paltry $35,916 reported in February 2023. That $3 million is the lowest revenue reported since last February, however, and monthly revenue from Kansas sports betting has now declined for the third consecutive month as well.
It was not a winning month for online sportsbooks in Kansas. DraftKings reported just under $2 million in revenue with its 2% hold on an $87.6 million handle, while FanDuel didn’t even break the million mark with their $885,938 in revenue and 1.5% hold on a $58.5 million handle. BetMGM took in the third-most wagers with their $20.1 million handle, while ESPN Bet and Caesars brought in $14.6 million and $11.2 million respectively. Of those three, Caesars was the only one to report Kansas sports betting revenue, albeit with an underwhelming $198,496, a 1.7% hold.
Overall, the statewide hold was a meager 1.5% across all retail and online sports betting in Kansas. The underdog Kansas City Chiefs winning Super Bowl LVIII definitely didn’t do the books any favors as sportsbooks nationwide took a beating.
Operators paid out $305,494 in taxes to the state in February, a considerable decline from the $1.4 million paid in January. Looking at the big picture though, the state only collected $1,134 in taxes from sports betting in Kansas in February 2023, so a year-over-year increase is still encouraging for the jurisdiction.
The American Gaming Association is projecting $2.72 billion to be wagered on 2024’s March Madness tournament which officially kicks off this week, so hopefully the Kansas sports betting landscape can get a much-needed boost in March from its college basketball fanatics.
