Kansas bettors could lose access to the state’s six legal sportsbooks in future years after lawmakers voted to prohibit renewing licenses with its betting platforms Friday.
A budget bill passed earlier this year prevents state regulators from negotiating extensions on the Kansas sports betting licenses. Once a license expires, the sportsbook will no longer be able to take bets.
The legislation does not make sports betting illegal again in Kansas, but it does create a scenario where some or all of its legal sportsbooks will have to go offline, a situation that seemed unthinkable earlier this year.
Kansas bettors will be able to place wagers for the time being. Licenses are not set to expire until Aug. 31, 2027 for the six live books: BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, Fanatics, FanDuel and ESPN BET
Kansas sports betting votes
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly earlier this year vetoed the provision removing the ability to extend licenses. Legislators in the Republican-controlled House and Senate voted this week to override the sportsbook provision as part of a larger package of vetoes. The House vote to override the vetoes came Friday, a day after the House narrowly failed to override the vetoes.
The vote comes as some lawmakers opposed to the current Kansas regulatory structure look to amend the state’s 2022 sports betting legalization bill that Kelly championed, sources tell Covers. This could include a limited our sole-source model such as the since rescinded Washington, D.C. monopoly, a structure opposed by the industry.
With Kansas’ 2025 legislative session concluded, lawmakers will have to reconsider the state’s sports betting framework when the 2026 session begins in January of next year. The newly passed prohibition on sportsbook license extensions expires June 30, 2026, at which point regulators can extend the licenses.
No new sports betting proposal has been introduced, but it adds uncertainty about the potential for Kansas' current competitive model.
Kansas bettors would be unlikely to feel the difference under a new regulatory structure that keeps the competitive market, but it could mean higher taxes or other regulations for the books themselves. Lawmakers could also vote to extend the prohibition, which would further jeopardize the existing sportsbooks’ ability to take bets in Kansas.
The current law allows up to 12 books, all of which must partner with one of the state's four brick-and-mortar casinos, which are themselves managed by the state lottery.
Kansas’ move comes months before neighboring Missouri is set to launch mobile sportsbooks, likely in October or November of this year.
