Sports betting in Kansas is a few months shy of its one-year anniversary, while Missouri lawmakers failed again to legalize it.
Randy Evans is government relations manager with the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission. He said there’s definitely a strong interest among Missourians, based on how many have attempted to place bets through Kansas-based sites.
“When, like for the Super Bowl and NCAA Tournament, the company that geo fences us had documentation where there were…it was in the thousands of people that attempted to place wagers from Missouri,” Evans said. “Of course, the geo fencing did not allow them.”
Evans said in order to place a wager at a Kansas-based gaming platform, you and your devise have to physically be in Kansas.
“The geo fencing aspect will, for instance…if you’re in Missouri or Nebraska or any state that has yet to legalize gambling (or) sports wagering, you will be blocked,” he said. “You will not be able to place the wager.”
Evans said, though, that there are lots of people from Missouri and other nearby states who drive across the border into Kansas to place bets.
The Missouri House passed a sports betting bill in March, but it died in the Senate because a handful of senators insisted that the bill also include taxing video lottery terminals. Meanwhile, St. Louis Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III is considering backing a citizen ballot initiative to legalize sports betting within the Missouri Constitution.
Copyright 2023, Missourinet.
