Kansas sports betting bill passes the state House

The bill HB270 will be reviewed by a conference committee.

US.- Sports betting legislation is moving forward in Kansas. On Wednesday, HB270 passed through the state’s House and moved on to the Senate. The bill will now be reviewed by a conference committee.

The House approved the bill with a vote of 88-36, amending SB84 to include information listed in HB 2740. Two different versions of SB 84 passed through the chambers. Both will be required to produce a final proposal before sending it to Gov. Laura Kelly.

The proposal intends to allow the Kansas Lottery to offer sports betting through one or more lottery gaming facility operators. Each lottery gaming facility manager would be limited to operating three interactive sportsbooks, while also being allowed to trade with one approved interactive sportsbook, subject to Kansas Lottery approval. 

Up to three online sports betting operators can offer services per casino in Kansas. Originally, the measure only allowed one partnership per casino, but the number was amended within the Senate measure. The House bill allows sports betting in kiosks, and up to 50 partnerships with retailers are allowed, along with professional sports teams.

The Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission would be responsible for acting as the sports betting regulator.

The two chambers will have to settle on tax rates. Currently, the House version of the bill would tax mobile sports betting at 20 per cent and retail wagering at 14 per cent, while the Senate bill features an 8 per cent tax on internet sports betting and 5.5 per cent on retail.

An amendment to add 2 per cent of the sports betting tax revenue to treat problem gambling in the state was also added. Casinos will be required to provide $100,000 each year to the Problem Gambling and Addictions Grant Fund.

The proposal is supported by the state’s three commercial casinos, a tribal gaming entity, and other gaming interests in the state. The commercial casinos in Kansas are Boyd Gaming’s Kansas Star, Penn National Gaming’s Hollywood, and the Prairie Band Casino & Resort. The Golden Eagle is the tribal gaming venue.

“This has been a good debate that has been ongoing for years. It’s nice to pass this today,” said Rep. John Barker, who chairs the Federal and State Affairs committee.