The Kansas Lottery reported $260.9 million in bets last month, a 4% increase from the $249.7 million in wagers in October. Despite the jump in action, net revenue fell from 14.3 million to $8.9 million.
Kansas sportsbooks paid out $242.9 million in winnings, leaving them a hold of 6.9%, well short of October’s 10.2% and September’s 8.3%. On top of that, operators in the Sunflower State provided bettors with more promotional dollars, which also cut into the final tax bill.
Retail sportsbooks also saw more action. The four sportsbooks combined for $9.2 million in wagers, up from October’s $8.8 million. The Hollywood Casino saw 68% of the statewide physical wagers, which actually was a drop in market share from the 71% in October.
ESPN BET launches
ESPN’s sportsbook took over the Barstool brand in Kansas and made an impact after just two weeks of operation, although there's still a ways to go.
After just $9 million in bets in October, PENN Entertainment (which owned Barstool before switching to ESPN BET) recorded $21 million in November. Certainly their promotional spend helped as they went from $100,000 in October to $6.3 million in November. That was more than what DraftKings ($3.6 million) and FanDuel ($2.2 million) spent combined.
But even with all the fanfare and extra money, ESPN BET’s handle of $21.5 million ranked fourth of six in total in the state. DraftKings was first among Kansas sports betting apps with $109.5 million in wagers, a slight decline from the $114.3 million in October.
FanDuel was second with $80.1 million, up from $67.4 million. BetMGM recorded $24.1 million, up from $20.7 million. And after ESPN BET came Caesars with $12.7 million, a steep decline from $20.6 million.
PointsBet also saw a significant drop in action, although the book's handle jumped by more than 300% in October, so a regression was imminent. PointsBet saw $3.6 million, well short of the $8.6 million in October, but still almost double the September handle ($1.9 million).
