Missouri sports betting gamblers have crossed into Kansas for almost three years to place legal sports bets. Three years from now, Kansas residents may do the exact same.

Key takeaways

- Kansas lawmakers stopped brand-new sportsbook license extensions up until 2026, meaning possible regulative modifications that could affect its six legal operators after 2027.

- Missouri is set to mobile sportsbooks in late 2025, potentially reversing cross-border betting trends as Kansas bettors may head east.

- Future modifications in Kansas might include a sole-operator model or tax hikes, affecting competition and motivating bettors to seek options in Missouri.

Kansas sports betting wagering background

Kansas released its very first legal mobile sportsbooks in 2022. Six books now take bets: BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, ESPN BET, Fanatics and FanDuel.

The ability to put legal bets in Kansas attracts gamblers on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metro location to Kansas to bet, with some doing so most or nearly every day of the week.

That might alter if Kansas legislators overthrow the current regulative structure. Sources inform Covers some legislators want to increase the state's sports betting tax income, among the most affordable per capita of any of the 30 states with statewide legal mobile sportsbooks.
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Kansas' most likely reconsideration of its six-book legal sports betting wagering market next year will follow Missouri goes live with as numerous as a lots books; if Kansas significantly curtails its offerings, it might lead KS wagerers to put bets in MO, the reverse of the current pattern

The changes might be as simple as a tax increase. It could also result in a sole-source operator design some legislators are considering, one that could generate more direct revenue for sports betting the state but possibly force out some or all of the six existing sportsbooks as soon as their licenses end in Aug. 2027.

The legislation passed previously this month only puts a restriction till 2026, meaning Kansas' current sportsbooks can take bets till their licenses end the following year. Lawmakers may not even think about a dramatic modification to the regulative structure when they reconvene for the 2026 session, meaning no perceptible effect for Sunflower State gamblers.

But the license extension restriction leaves the possibility for remarkable changes that didn't seem possible weeks earlier.

Missouri sportsbooks prepare to introduce
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The Kansas move comes as Missouri nears the launch of its legal sportsbooks.

Missouri's multi-year sports wagering legalization push ended in Nov. 2024, when voters directly approved a tally procedure to bring legal retail and online sportsbooks to the state. The vote followed years of unsuccessful efforts to legalize sports betting in the legislature.

Missouri's legal sportsbooks are set to start taking bets in the fourth quarter of 2025. There are also set to be nearly twice as numerous betting options in Missouri as Kansas.
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FanDuel and DraftKings contributed more than $30 million to support the ballot step. The 2 U.S. market share leaders have, as expected, revealed plans to take bets in Missouri when licensed.

Other books including BetMGM, BetRivers and Underdog likewise announced launch strategies. Bet365 struck a handle MLB's St. Louis Cardinals and likewise prepares to accept bets in the state.
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Caesars, sports betting which opposed the tally measure over license allowance concerns, operates three Missouri casinos and is eligible to release its online book in the state. Penn Entertainment (ESPN BET) and Bally's (Bally Bet) likewise operate Missouri casinos that grant them instant market gain access to.
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Other books including Hard Rock, live in Illinois, could likewise pursue among roughly two-dozen possible Missouri sports betting licenses.

The larger variety of Show Me State wagering options could attract Kansas wagerers in the Kansas City metro location to Missouri to place bets, reversing years of bettor traffic going the opposite direction. This could accelerate if the Sunflower State curtails its sportsbook roster, particularly if DraftKings and/or FanDuel can no longer accept bets.

Missouri voters in the Kansas City city were the most ardent advocates of the sports wagering tally procedure, which could highlight citizens' interest in putting bets in their home state when books go live.

Missouri's sports wagering lineup doubts ahead of the 2025 launch. Kansas' sportsbooks might change too in the occurring years.