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Missouri sports betting gamblers have actually into Kansas for nearly three years to place legal sports betting bets. Three years from now, Kansas citizens might do the same.

Key takeaways

- Kansas lawmakers stopped new sportsbook license extensions until 2026, hinting at possible regulative changes that could affect its six legal operators after 2027.

- Missouri is set to introduce legal mobile sportsbooks in late 2025, possibly reversing cross-border betting patterns as Kansas bettors may head east.

- Future changes in Kansas might consist of a sole-operator design or tax hikes, sports betting affecting competition and encouraging bettors to seek alternatives in Missouri.

Kansas sports wagering background
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Kansas launched its very 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 wagerers on the Missouri side of the Kansas City city location to Kansas to bet, with some doing so most or nearly every day of the week.

That could change if Kansas lawmakers upend the existing regulatory structure. Sources tell Covers some legislators wish 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 wagering market next year will come after Missouri goes live with as many as a dozen books; if Kansas drastically reduces its offerings, it might lead KS bettors to place bets in MO, the opposite of the existing pattern
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The modifications could be as simple as a tax boost. It could likewise result in a sole-source operator model some lawmakers are thinking about, one that could create more direct income for the state but potentially dislodge some or all of the 6 existing sportsbooks once their licenses expire in Aug. 2027.

The legislation passed previously this month only places a prohibition until 2026, indicating Kansas' existing sportsbooks can take bets until their licenses expire the following year. Lawmakers may not even think about a dramatic modification to the regulative structure when they reconvene for sports betting the 2026 session, suggesting no noticeable impact for Sunflower State wagerers.
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But the license extension restriction leaves the possibility for remarkable changes that didn't seem possible weeks earlier.

Missouri sportsbooks prepare to launch

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 ballot step to bring legal retail and online sportsbooks to the state. The vote followed years of failed efforts to legalize 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 two times as many wagering alternatives in Missouri as Kansas.

FanDuel and DraftKings contributed more than $30 million to support the ballot measure. The 2 U.S. market share leaders have, as expected, announced plans 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 prepares to accept bets in the state.

Caesars, which opposed the tally step over license allocation issues, runs 3 Missouri casinos and is eligible to release its online book in the state. Penn Entertainment (ESPN BET) and Bally's (Bally Bet) also run Missouri gambling establishments that grant them instant market gain access to.

Other books consisting of Hard Rock, live in Illinois, might also pursue one of roughly two-dozen possible Missouri sports betting wagering licenses.

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

Missouri citizens in the Kansas City metro were the most ardent advocates of the sports betting tally measure, which could underscore residents' interest in putting bets in their home state when books go live.

Missouri's sports wagering lineup is unpredictable ahead of the 2025 launch. Kansas' sportsbooks might change too in the taking place years.