The Kansas House of Representatives is to run the rule over a new bill that seeks to legalize online and retail sports betting in the US state, with operators entering into contracts with the state lottery.
Sponsored by the state’s House Federal and State Affairs Committee, House Bill 2740 sets out proposals to expand the existing lottery act to allow for online sports wagering.
The bill states that the Kansas Lottery would be able to offer sports betting through one or more lottery gaming facility managers that have entered into a contract with the lottery.
Each lottery gaming facility manager would be limited to operating three interactive sports wagering platforms, while they would also be permitted to agree a deal with an approved interactive sports betting platform, subject to clearance by the Kansas Lottery.
Sports wagering supplier licenses would run for a period of two years, though the lottery may award provisional licenses for up to one year. The bill said that fee for these licenses would be decided at a later date.
Legal sports betting would also be extended to sports teams, with any professional sports team located in Kansas able to enter an agreement with a lottery gaming facility manager.
The lottery gaming facility manager would have responsibility for operating and managing any sports betting offering, though the sports team could support this through marketing activity.
In terms of tax, operators will be required to pay at a rate of 20% of sports betting revenue received from wagers placed online. This rate will be set lower, at 14%, for wagers placed in person at a lottery gaming facility.
The bill did not set a potential start date but did state that the act would come into effect after the bill was published in the state’s statue book.
A similar bill was put forward around the same time last year and while it cleared the Senate, it failed to progress past the House.