The state of Kentucky just recently launched legal sports betting on the first day of the NFL season, and that state is hoping to have as much success as Kansas has had. Now that the month of August has wrapped up, Kansas has celebrated one year of legal sports betting, both online and in-person.
Kansas was never going to be a state that was one of the biggest sports betting markets in the country, but that was never the goal when the industry was legalized. The results have actually been better than expected in Kansas, and there is still some room to grow for this market as well.
A Look at the 12-Month Numbers
The projections for sports betting in Kansas were pretty small compared to some other states, but there was always the chance to exceed expectations. While Kansas hasn’t exactly put up the huge number of other states in the Midwest, this industry has proven to be successful.
The total sports betting handle for the first 12 months in the state of Kansas was $1.85 billion, which is a solid number. Sportsbooks in the state of Kansas were also pretty successful, as they were able to win over nine percent of all wagers, and that is above the national average.
Total sports betting revenue for the first year came in at $166.4 million, and that is a number that should improve over time. Another number that is only going to get better is the $7 million in sports betting tax revenue that was collected over the past 12 months.
The state of Kansas has both online and retail sports betting available, but it was the mobile sportsbooks that saw the most action. That is always going to be the case in Kansas, and there are still some online sports betting licenses available.
Two Clear Favorites in Kansas
FanDuel is the leader in online sports betting market share in the United States, and DraftKings Sportsbook isn’t too far behind. The results in the state of Kansas have been similar, as there is a pretty clear gap after these two online sportsbooks.
The one big change in the state of Kansas is that DraftKings has been the clear leader ever since online betting first launched. DraftKings posted an online market share of 43% for the first 12 months, well ahead of rival FanDuel.
BetMGM and Caesars were in third and fourth place in Kansas, respectively, and that is pretty typical when looking at the sports betting market in the United States. That could change soon, though, as there will be some rebranding in Kansas that could change things moving forward.
Penn Entertainment and ESPN just recently agreed to a partnership, and that is going to lead to the launch of ESPN BET in Kansas. Fanatics has also agreed to the rights of PointsBet’s U.S. assets, and that is going to create a new option in this state as well.
Even though it was a great first year for Kansas sports betting, even bigger numbers are expected to come in during the final few months of 2023 and the start of 2024.
