The Sunflower State’s October sports betting handle rose 10.5% year-over-year and set a new monthly record.
The Kansas Lottery reported that $275.9 million was wagered during a big month of NFL, college football, the World Series, and the start of the NBA season.
October’s handle eclipsed the previous high of $260.9 million set in November 2023. Sunflower State operators took in 10.9% more wagers than in September.
October marked the 11th time since sports betting went live in September 2022 that Kansas bettors have wagered more than $200 million.
Online sports betting accounted for $266.3 million, up from the $240 million mobile handle from October 2023. Retail sportsbooks also saw a year-over-year and month-over-month increase to $9.6 million in wagers.
Revenue dips
Strong gross revenue, however, didn’t follow. In what’s been described as a “customer-friendly” month of outcomes, Kansas’ six online operators and four retail sportsbooks combined to haul in $12.97 million due to a 4.7% hold. This came a month after the Sunflower State’s operators produced a record of $34 million.
Gross revenue was down 49% year-over-year and 62% month-over-month. Adjusted revenue reached just $4.9 million behind a 1.8% win rate. Retail sportsbooks produced a hold below 1%.
The Sunflower State filled its coffers with $498,355 in tax revenue, down significantly from the $1.8 million turned in by operators in September.
DraftKings sets new handle high
| Operator | October Handle | Gross Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| DraftKings | $122.8 million | $4.3 million |
| FanDuel | $85 million | $5.9 million |
| BetMGM | $23 million | $1.3 million |
| ESPN BET | $12.5 million | $457,134 |
| Caesars | $12 million | $538,286 |
| Fanatics Sportsbook | $11.2 million | $435,418 |
DraftKings was a big reason why Kansas set a new handle mark. The online sportsbook also took in an all-time high of $122.8 million in wagers, a month after it recorded a handle of $119.3 million, the previous record.
The win rate fell from 14% in September to 3.5% in October, leaving DraftKings with $4.3 million in gross revenue, down from the previous month’s all-time high of $16.7 million.
FanDuel’s handle of $85 million was second-best in October and a 21.8% month-over-month increase. The online operator finished with a better hold than DraftKings to rack up $5.9 million in gross revenue.
BetMGM held down its usual spot at third with a handle of $23 million. The bottom three operators, ESPN BET, Caesars, and Fanatics, were only separated by a little over $1 million. None of those three got their win rates to 5%.
Looking ahead
While the Kansas sports betting market continues to grow based on the year-over-year handle increase, it’ll be interesting to see if that remains true this time next year.
On Nov. 5’s Election Day, voters in neighboring Missouri passed an amendment to become the 39th U.S. state to legalize sports betting. In Kansas City, a town split by both states, many Missourians who cross the border into Kansas to place wagers won’t have to do that much longer.
Sports betting is expected to go live before the 2025 football season in the Show-Me State.
