Welcome to sports betting in Kansas!
The Sunflower State is officially live for offering legal sports betting with today's soft launch at noon CT — and the official start date set for September 8, when the NFL season kicks off.
To help you figure out where — and with whom — you can place wagers on Day 1, we've got all the info you need to know.
Where can you bet in Kansas?
Kansas will have both retail and online sports betting options available for sports bettors. The following sportsbooks are offering mobile betting right now:
- FanDuel: Read reviews | Sign up now
- DraftKings: Read reviews | Sign up now
- Barstool Sportsbook: Read reviews | Sign up now
- BetMGM: Read reviews | Sign up now
- Caesars: Read reviews | Sign up now
- PointsBet: Read reviews | Sign up now
For those looking to place your first wager in person, two of the state’s four casinos will have brick-and-mortar locations ready to accept your bets:
- Kansas Star Casino, just South of Wichita, will have a FanDuel sportsbook.
- Hollywood Casino, Northeast in Kansas City, will have a Barstool sportsbook.
More operators are on the way
Kansas is allowing each casino to partner with three sportsbooks, meaning there are 12 total licenses up for grabs.
The six operators above will launch today, while three others — Golden Nugget, Bally Bet (with Boot Hill Casino & Resort), and two others have partnerships in place and should launch in the near future.
For the other remaining two retail locations: DraftKings is expected to launch a retail outlet at Boot Hill in October and Caesars will eventually operate a retail book inside Kansas Crossing — but no opening date has been announced yet.
Kansas promo offers
For those looking to place an online wager, launch days are among the most lucrative, as sportsbooks hit the market with enticing sign-up offers and promotional bets. Here's a quick overview of the expected welcome offers for Kansas launch day:
- BetMGM: $1,000 risk-free bet
- Caesars: Free bet of up to $1,250
- DraftKings: Bet $5, get $200 in free bets
- FanDuel: Bet $5, get $150 in free bets
- PointsBet: Up to $500 in risk-free bets + a $50 free bet
See the full breakdown of Kansas promo options.
Kansas timeline history
The state senate introduced SB 84 in late January 2021, with the house passing the amended bill in April 2022 — a year after the original bill was rejected.
After it appeared that sports betting was not going to be ready in time for this year's NFL kickoff, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly announced only a couple of weeks ago that sports betting was in fact going to be ready, as the state raced to provide specific regulations with the state lottery proposing their set of rules.
One last hurdle came shortly after that announcement when Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt found regulation issues that needed to be addressed. These problems were rectified in time, however, and the state was still able to give the green light for today's soft launch.
Operators will face a 10% tax rate, much smaller than most states. And unlike other states, who devote their new revenue to education services, infrastructure funds, etc., a majority of Kansas’ betting revenue is expected to go into a fund used to lure a professional sports team into Kansas, as the state looks across its Eastern border at the Kansas City Chiefs — who currently play in Missouri.
