Missouri sports wagerers have crossed into Kansas for nearly three years to put legal sports bets. Three years from now, Kansas locals might do the exact same.

Key takeaways
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- Kansas legislators halted brand-new sportsbook license extensions up until 2026, meaning possible regulatory changes that might impact its six legal operators after 2027.
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- Missouri is set to introduce legal mobile sportsbooks in late 2025, potentially reversing cross-border betting patterns as Kansas gamblers might head east.
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- Future changes in Kansas could consist of a sole-operator design or tax hikes, impacting competitors and encouraging bettors to look for options in Missouri.

Kansas sports betting background

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

The capability to position legal bets in Kansas brings in bettors on the Missouri side of the city location to Kansas to bet, with some doing so most or almost every day of the week.

That could change if Kansas legislators upend the existing regulative structure. Sources tell Covers some lawmakers want to increase the state's sports betting wagering tax revenue, amongst the least expensive per capita of any of the 30 states with statewide legal mobile sportsbooks.
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Kansas' likely reconsideration of its six-book legal sports wagering market next year will come after Missouri goes deal with as numerous as a dozen books; if Kansas drastically curtails its offerings, it might lead KS bettors to place bets in MO, the opposite of the current pattern

The changes might be as simple as a tax boost. It could also result in a sole-source operator design some legislators are thinking about, one that could produce more direct income for the state but potentially dislodge some or all of the six existing sportsbooks when their licenses expire in Aug. 2027.

The legislation passed previously this month only places a restriction up until 2026, indicating Kansas' existing sportsbooks can take bets until their licenses end the list below year. Lawmakers may not even consider a significant modification to the regulative structure when they reconvene for the 2026 session, indicating no noticeable impact for Sunflower State gamblers.

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

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

Missouri's multi-year sports betting legalization push ended in Nov. 2024, when citizens directly approved a tally procedure to bring legal retail and online sportsbooks to the state. The vote followed years of failed efforts to legislate sports betting wagering in the legislature.
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Missouri's legal sportsbooks are set to begin taking bets in the 4th quarter of 2025. There are also set to be nearly twice as many betting choices in Missouri as Kansas.

FanDuel and DraftKings contributed more than $30 million to support the tally step. The 2 U.S. market share leaders have, as expected, revealed strategies to take bets in Missouri once accredited.

Other books including BetMGM, BetRivers and Underdog also revealed launch strategies. Bet365 struck a deal with MLB's St. Louis Cardinals and also plans to accept bets in the state.

Caesars, which opposed the tally procedure over license allocation concerns, sports betting operates three Missouri gambling establishments and is eligible to introduce its online book in the state. Penn Entertainment (ESPN BET) and Bally's (Bally Bet) likewise operate Missouri casinos that approve them immediate market gain access to.

Other books including Hard Rock, reside in Illinois, might also pursue among approximately two-dozen possible Missouri sports betting licenses.

The larger array of Show Me State wagering alternatives might attract Kansas gamblers in the Kansas City metro location to Missouri to place bets, reversing years of wagerer traffic going the opposite direction. This could speed up if the Sunflower State cuts its sportsbook lineup, especially if DraftKings and/or FanDuel can no longer accept bets.

Missouri citizens in the Kansas City metro were the most ardent fans of the sports wagering tally step, which could highlight citizens' interest in placing bets in their home state when books go live.

Missouri's sports betting wagering lineup is unsure ahead of the 2025 launch. Kansas' sportsbooks could alter too in the occurring years.