Kansas sports betting handle reaches $536M in first three months; lottery ticket sales rise as casino gaming slips

Kansas lottery ticket sales rose and casino revenue slipped in the wake of legal sports wagering in the Sunflower State. Sports gambling in Kansas has topped $536 million in the opening three months of legal betting, according to officials.

Interest in Powerball and Mega Millions pushed Kansas lottery revenue to $35.5 million in November, a 46% rise from $24.2 million the same month in 2021. This took place as Kansas took its first steps in the legal sports betting space.

The launch of the new vertical resulted in monthly wagering of $160.5 million in September, $189.9 million in October and $186.3 million in November. The three-month total was $536.7 million. 

These figures were robust enough to raise questions about whether the advent of sports betting in Kansas would slice into consumer enthusiasm for the state’s routine casino gambling or lottery ticket sales. 

Stephen Durrell, executive director of the Kansas Lottery

As reported by Kansas Reflector, Stephen Durrell, executive director of the Kansas Lottery, said there would be a sorting out period in Kansas’ gambling and lottery sectors, but noted there was no evidence the traditional lottery or casino operations would collapse under the weight of sportsbooks. “They like to stay in their individual silos,” he said. “They don’t typically cannibalize each other.”

The most recent statistics on legal sports gambling - managed through the state’s four casinos in Dodge City, Pittsburgh, Mulvane and Kansas City - showed a leveling of sports wagering and an increase in net revenue and tax collections from betting on athletics. 

Net revenue from sports betting in Kansas climbed from $1.29 million in September to $1.43 million in October and to $8 million in November. In the initial three months of mobile, online and retail sports wagering in Kansas, the state's piece of the action was $1 million. 

Gov. Laura Kelly signed sports betting into law last year

80% of tax revenue must be deposited in a fund dedicated to helping attract another professional sports franchise to Kansas. The state’s share of sports gambling revenue was set at 10% in the bill that legalized the activity, which was approved by the Legislature and signed in May by Governor Laura Kelly. 

As for land-based gaming, standard gambling revenue from the four casinos was reported to be $33.7 million in September. However, October casino revenue dropped to $32.9 million, and the revenue report for November showed a further decline to $31.6 million.

In September, the Kansas Lottery documented ticket sales of $24.6 million. Ticket sales surged in the following months, amounting to $30.2 million in October, and further increasing to $35.5 million in November.