Kansas showed last month that as long as the sportsbooks make money, there can be a drop in handle and still report a strong month.
The Kansas Lottery announced $259.6 million in wagers last month, just a hair shy of the $260.9 million in bets in November.
While the amount of action didn’t increase like most sports betting states who reported their December numbers, Kansas’ revenue exploded. Sportsbooks, as a whole, netted $20 million, compared to the $8.9 million in November and $14.3 million in October. The hold percentage was the main reason for the boost in profits, jumping from 6.9% to 12%.
On the retail side, the handle rose 14% to $10.5 million with Hollywood Casino seeing the vast majority of the action (74% of the handle).
All in all Kansas’ tax bill hit $2 million, more than twice the $890,000 in November.
ESPNBet reduces promotions but still fighting
The initial bang of ESPNBet’s launch is over and one month later we see how the new sportsbook is faring.
Kansas doesn’t have a largely competitive market, just 6 operators are taking online wagers in the Sunflower State but ESPNBet has seen some positive data.
After reducing its promotional spend from over $6 million to $2.4 million, ESPNBet has increased its popularity in Kansas.
In November they ranked 4th of 6 with $21.5 million in handle, now they accepted $22.6 million and are $12,000 away from leapfrogging BetMGM for 3rd place. The bad news is that they did not make a profit in December, joining PointsBet (who ranks last in handle) as the only legal sports betting operators not contributing to the state’s tax bill.
Also, ESPNBet has not made a dent in the market share of the top 2 operators. DraftKings led the state with $103.8 million in bets with FanDuel a distant second at $86.5 million.
