Kansas Sports Betting on Track for Week 1 of the NFL Season

Kansas is on track for sports betting in less than a month, and FanDuel and DraftKings released pre-registration sign up offers this week.

More operators are expected to join them next week, a source within the industry said. That lines up with the Week 1 NFL start date, which Action Network reported operators were targeting after Kansas passed its sports betting bill in April.

"We’ve done what we need to do to get this moving to try to meet the start date of the NFL football regular season,” David Moses, chairman of the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission said at the regulatory meeting on Friday.

During the meeting, the commission unanimously approved regulations for operators put forth earlier this week by the Kansas Lottery.

Both groups are tasked with implementing Kansas’ sports betting law, which was approved by Gov. Laura Kelly in May.

Fast-Tracked Approval

No operators have been approved so far, though a clause in the law allows the lottery to issue temporary regulations by the end of August.

Stephen Durrell, Executive Director of the Kansas Lottery, declined to give a start date earlier this week after finalizing regulations to send to the commission. “We are hopeful this will be soon so we can launch sooner rather than later,” he said.

The Kansas Lottery's next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 7, though a special meeting may be called before then.

Apps Expected in Kansas

The state’s four casinos may partner with up to three operators each to offer online and retail betting. Several apps have already secured market access:

Kansas’ federally recognized Native American Tribes may also update their gaming compacts to offer sports betting.

The law allows professional sports teams and other retail locations to take bets through sports betting kiosks as well.

Sporting Kansas City, an MLS soccer team, is the only professional sports team in the state.