Missouri sports betting bettors have crossed into Kansas for nearly three years to position legal sports bets. Three years from now, Kansas residents might do the exact same.

Key takeaways

- Kansas legislators stopped brand-new sportsbook license extensions until 2026, meaning possible regulatory modifications that could impact its 6 legal operators after 2027.
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- Missouri is set to release legal mobile sportsbooks in late 2025, sports betting potentially reversing cross-border wagering patterns as Kansas wagerers may head east.
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- Future modifications in Kansas might include a sole-operator design or tax hikes, impacting competition and motivating gamblers to seek alternatives in Missouri.
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Kansas sports betting background

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

The capability to put legal bets in Kansas draws in gamblers on the Missouri side of the Kansas City city area to Kansas to wager, with some doing so most or almost every day of the week.

That could change if Kansas legislators overthrow the current regulatory structure. Sources inform Covers some legislators desire to increase the state's sports betting tax revenue, among the most affordable per capita of any of the 30 states with statewide legal mobile sportsbooks.

Kansas' likely reconsideration of its six-book legal sports wagering market next year will follow Missouri goes deal with as many as a dozen books; if Kansas drastically cuts its offerings, it might lead KS wagerers to position bets in MO, the opposite of the present pattern
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The modifications might be as basic as a tax increase. It might also lead to a sole-source operator model some legislators are considering, one that might generate more direct income for the state but possibly force out some or all of the 6 existing sportsbooks when their licenses end in Aug. 2027.

The legislation passed previously this month just puts a prohibition until 2026, suggesting Kansas' current sportsbooks can take bets until their licenses end the following year. Lawmakers might not even think about a remarkable change to the regulative structure when they reconvene for the 2026 session, indicating no perceptible impact for Sunflower State bettors.

But the license extension prohibition leaves the possibility for dramatic changes that didn't appear possible weeks ago.

Missouri sportsbooks prepare to release

The Kansas relocation 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 step 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 begin taking bets in the fourth quarter of 2025. There are likewise set to be nearly two times as numerous wagering choices in Missouri as Kansas.
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FanDuel and DraftKings contributed more than $30 million to support the ballot step. The two U.S. market share leaders have, as anticipated, revealed strategies to take bets in Missouri when licensed.
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Other books including BetMGM, BetRivers and Underdog also announced launch strategies. Bet365 struck a handle MLB's St. Louis Cardinals and likewise plans to accept bets in the state.

Caesars, which opposed the ballot procedure over license allotment concerns, runs 3 Missouri gambling establishments and is qualified to release its online book in the state. Penn Entertainment (ESPN BET) and Bally's (Bally Bet) also operate Missouri casinos that grant them instant market gain access to.

Other books including Hard Rock, live in Illinois, might also pursue one of approximately two-dozen prospective Missouri sports wagering licenses.

The broader selection of Show Me State betting options might attract Kansas gamblers in the Kansas City city area to Missouri to position bets, reversing years of wagerer traffic going the opposite direction. This might 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 metro were the most ardent advocates of the sports betting wagering tally measure, which could underscore homeowners' interest in positioning bets in their home state when books go live.

Missouri's sports betting lineup is unsure ahead of the 2025 launch. Kansas' sportsbooks could change too in the taking place years.