The Kansas Lottery is getting ready for sports wagering to start in Kansas, according to Stephen Durrell, executive director.
A bill that passed the Kansas Legislature would allow casino managers to run sports wagering in Kansas, while putting the Kansas Lottery in charge of it. Betting on college and professional sports would become legal in Kansas under the law, and it would be allowed through the state-owned casinos.
The bill would take effect on July 1, and the lottery plans to implement it as quickly and efficiently as possible, according to Stephen Durrell, executive director of the Kansas Lottery. Durrell discussed the topic at a meeting Wednesday of the Kansas Lottery Commission. There are a number of different deadlines in the bill.
Durrell said individuals in Kansas who want to place sports bets would have to have some sort of account with either a state-owned casino, with a casino application or with the Kansas Lottery, but the details of that are not yet worked out.
According to Durrell, similar to the state-owned casinos in Kansas, the Kansas Lottery would act as the owner-operator of sports wagering, with the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission the regulator and the state casinos the day-to-day managers.
He said that casinos would do a good job of making sure that sports wagers are fair and regulated, and if players wins, the players would get the money they are entitled to.
The Kansas Lottery is meeting with casino managers to discuss rules and regulations, and also plans to meet with the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission to discuss any gray areas of whose responsibility it will be to implement various parts of sports wagering, Durrell said. The new law is not always clear on the various responsibilities.
Senate Bill 84, which passed the Kansas Legislature, had not yet been signed into law by the governor, but Durrell said the lottery is proceeding as if it will be.
Durrell said the Kansas Lottery will create a document, a contract which would cover aspects of sports wagering.
He said casinos would have the option of selecting sports online wagering vendors, with the state having the ultimate authority on using them. Online vendors would have to pass a background check from the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission before approval, he said.
In addition to online applications that casinos will be able to offer for sports wagering, there will be an option of making physical changes within the state casinos to offer sports wagering, he said. Any changes to the casino floors will need the approval of the Kansas Lottery, under the language of the Kansas Expanded Lottery Act, he said.
The Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway in Wyandotte County is one of the four state-owned casinos in Kansas.
Senate Bill 84 also included Sporting Kansas City and Kansas Speedway as two locations that can contract with managers to offer sports wagering, he said.
The bill states that any manager may enter into a marketing agreement with not more than 50 marketing entities, at least 20 percent of which are nonprofit fraternal or veterans’ organizations. Marketing agreements would have to be submitted to the Kansas Lottery for approval.
Senate Bill 84 also contained a provision that would pledge some of the sports wagering revenues toward attracting professional sports teams to Kansas.
The bill also allows wagering on historical horse races at racetrack facilities, regulated by the Kansas pari-mutuel racing laws.
A provision for “I-lottery” that had been in the bill originally was not part of the final version, according to Durrell. That means the Kansas Lottery will not be able to offer its instant games online.
More information on Senate Bill 84 is at http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/sb84/.