December marked another rough month for sports betting operators in the Sunflower State.
The Kansas Lottery recently reported gross revenue of $15.2 million from retail and online sportsbooks fell more than 50% year-over-year and 56% month-over-month. Adjusted revenue of $8.8 million was down 56% from Deccember 2023.
The hold on a $261.3-million handle was just 5.8%, the third lowest of 2024 behind only the amount in wagers in February and October. February is traditionally a bad month for sportsbooks because of the Super Bowl, while this past October was one of the most customer-friendly NFL months sports betting operators have ever seen.
December, a volume month with NFL, college football postseason, NBA, and college basketball, has typically treated Sunflower State operators well. Kansas produced an 11.8% win rate in December 2023 and 9.3% in 2022.
Bettors wagered less than 1% more dollars year-over-year, but the December handle was down 10% from November.
The Sunflower State filled its coffers with $886,113 in tax revenue for December.
Year in review
Kansas capped its second full year of sports betting by generating a 2024 handle of $2.54 billion, up 21% from the $2.1 billion in 2023. The Sunflower State operators produced $216.7 million in gross revenue, an 18.8% increase from the previous year.
Despite the house’s low edge in December, the 2024 hold of 8.6% still matched the 2023 win rate. The state hauled in $12.7 million in sports betting tax revenue in 2024, surpassing the previous year by $600,000.
Kansas operators set an all-time monthly revenue high in September ($34.1 million) only to break it in November ($34.8 million), which was also the month with the highest handle ($291 million) ever generated in the Sunflower State.
Profits hard to come by
| Operator | December Handle | Gross Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| DraftKings | $112.2 million | $7 million |
| FanDuel | $79.1 million | $6.5 million |
| BetMGM | $22 million | $850,568 |
| Fanatics Sportsbook | $14 million | $547,964 |
| ESPN BET | $13.3 million | $72,940 |
| Caesars | $12.2 million | $417,104 |
Online Kansas sports betting accounted for $252.8 million of the total December handle with DraftKings leading the way with $112.2 million in wagers accepted. The mobile operator didn’t come close to matching November’s stellar $128.1 million handle.
FanDuel finished second at $79.1 million, down $7.4 million from the previous month, but the online sportsbook produced a hold two points higher than DraftKings to end up about $500,000 shy in gross revenue totals.
DraftKings spent $2.6 million in promotional credits, down from $3.2 million in November, while FanDuel increased its promo spending from $1.9 million to $2.2 million.
BetMGM saw a $4 million month-over-month dropoff in wagering as its December handle just reached $22 million. A 3.9% hold, however, kept revenue from reaching $1 million.
Fanatics Sportsbook finished fourth in handle at $14 million, but the online sportsbook joined ESPN BET as the only two operators that failed to produce positive net revenue in December.
ESPN BET generated a hold of less than 1% while shelling out over $224,000 in promo credits. Caesars produced just a 3.4% win rate to claim $417,104 in gross revenue on a $12.2 million handle.
Retail combines for loss
Retail sports betting in the Sunflower State accounted for $8.4 million in December handle, but paid out $137,980 more than it brought in. Four brick-and-mortar sportsbooks hauled in a combined $1 million in revenue in December 2023.
Hollywood Casino recorded the largest handle at $6.1 million, but the retail operator lost more than $200,000 in December. Kansas Star generated $1.2 million in wagers and paid out $1.12 million, squeezing out a $55,339 profit after promo deductions, taxes, and carryover.
