As residents await the launch of Kansas sports betting sites, the state’s four commercial casinos had slight drops in revenue for May compared to April, and small declines in year-over-year figures as well.
The combined May casino revenue for the four facilities was $33,495,837. That was a 7.0% decline from April ($36,031,139) and was down 2.7% from May 2021 ($34,433,752), according to figures reported by the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission.
The Sunflower State also has seven tribal casinos.
Breakdown of Kansas Casino Revenue
The Kansas Star Casino & Resort in Mulvane led the state in casino revenue for May at $13,302,782. That included about $11 million from electronic gaming machines (slots) and $2.3 million from table games. The total figure was down from the $14.1 million reported in May 2021.
Next came Kansas City’s Hollywood Casino & Resort, at the Kansas Speedway, with $12,801,266. That figure derived from $11.37 million in slots and $1.4 million via table games. Hollywood had a year-over-year increase from the $12.57 million in revenue for May 2021.
Boot Hill Casino & Resort in Dodge City, which recently signed sports betting deals with DraftKings and Bally Bet, had $4,024,689 in May revenue, followed by Kansas Crossing Casino & Resort in Pittsburg with $3,367,101. Kansas Crossing was the other casino to see an increase from 12 months earlier.
The state’s share of the revenue from casinos is 22%. That broke down to $7.37 million in May compared to $7.9 million in April and $7.6 million 12 months earlier.
In addition to taxes earmarked for the state, casinos in Kansas also pay local taxes and a 2% share for programs aimed at combating problem gambling.
Kansas Sports Betting Update
One of only two states to legalize sports betting in 2022, Kansas is setting a pretty good pace toward launching its program.
The only other state to sign legislation to clear the way for legal, regulated wagering on sports this year was Maine, and that state might not launch until 2024. Kansas also seems likely to beat two states that approved the practice in late 2021: Ohio, where the launch is set right at the deadline date of Jan. 1, 2023; and Maryland, which had hoped to start its program for this football season but is realistically on track for a launch some time in 2023.
Meanwhile, Kansas didn’t officially get rolling until May 13, when Gov. Laura Kelly signed legislation to make sports betting legal. Yet Kansas might be the next state to offer active sports betting.
Todd Allen, government relations director for the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission, recently told BetKansas.com that the state must have a background process set up by Aug. 1. That is just one of the foundations that must be set for the market to launch.
There are 30-plus states with legal, regulated sports betting markets, whether they include online sports betting, retail only or both. Any state with mobile sports betting has typically taken at least six months (and often longer) between the legislation being approved and the market launching. So realistically, a date late in the football season would be a reasonable assumption, if Kansas is to have sports betting up and running in 2022.
Kansas betting promos are expected at the legal sites as soon as they launch. Stay tuned for more updates.
