Potential Kansas sports activities betting stakeholders introduced impartial or opposing testimony at a listening to Thursday, not as a result of they opposed authorized wagering however as a result of a Senate invoice would prohibit them from taking bets.
Officers representing the state’s lottery retailers and horse racing tracks requested to be included within the Senate’s sports activities betting invoice, which as drafted would solely allow industrial and Native American casinos to take bets. The Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee hasn’t voted on the invoice, however Thursday’s listening to underscored the complicated licensing allocation course of lawmakers might want to agree upon earlier than authorized wagering can start in Kansas.
Lottery Retailers Search Sports activities Betting Entry
The Kansas Lottery oversees the state’s 4 industrial casinos, which might have the ability to settle for retail and on-line sportsbooks below the Senate proposal. Lottery retailers must also have the ability to take bets, their officers testified Thursday.
Becky Schwartz, affiliate govt director of comfort retailer advocacy group Gas True – Unbiased Power and Comfort, stated her group opposed the Senate proposal so long as it excludes the state’s greater than 1,100 comfort retailers from taking bets. She requested the Senate to as a substitute endorse a Home invoice that might develop gaming to comfort shops.
The Home proposal would seemingly anger would-be sportsbook operators permitted within the Senate invoice. Although the state lottery oversees each ticket gross sales and brick-and-mortar casinos, an expanded lottery presence at comfort shops may lower into sportsbook operators’ market share.
Representatives from Penn Nationwide, which operates the Hollywood On line casino at Kansas Speedway in Kansas Metropolis, testified in favor of the Senate’s invoice at a separate listening to Wednesday. Different sportsbooks equivalent to PointsBet have already got offers in place with industrial casinos ought to Kansas legalize on-line and retail sports activities betting.
The expanded retail betting choices may be much less politically acceptable to Republicans, which have supermajority management over each the Home and Senate.
Horse Tracks Search Sports activities Betting Rebirth
The 2007 act that allowed the Lottery to create 4 industrial casinos additionally permitted slot machines at horse tracks. Nonetheless, the 40 p.c slot income tax, almost twice the on line casino price, made the machines unprofitable. This, mixed with the nationwide demise in pari-mutuel horse wagering, has shut the tracks down for greater than a decade.
Horse observe stakeholders see sports activities betting (together with decrease slot taxes) as a method to re-open the tracks.
Ruffin Firms lobbyist Jason Watkins stated the decrease tax charges and expanded gaming choices may generate a whole bunch of latest jobs and thousands and thousands in state revenues if the horse tracks reopen. The overwhelming majority would come from slots: the Senate invoice initiatives roughly $900 million in annual sports activities betting deal with at maturity and round $5 million in annual tax revenues.
Expanded retail betting choices at Ruffin Firm’s Kansas horse tracks could also be extra palatable to sportsbook operators than a whole bunch of in-person retailers, nevertheless it may very well be one other stumbling block within the laws course of. Neither the Home nor Senate invoice would permit sportsbooks at horse tracks.
It stays to be seen if Ruffin Firms proprietor Phil Ruffin will have the ability to additional affect the laws.
Ruffin is a former Kansas resident and proprietor of Las Vegas casinos Treasure Island, Circus Circus and Trump Worldwide Lodge and Tower, which he co-owns with former President Donald Trump. He has contributed to state and federal Republican candidates in Kansas and nationwide.
Subsequent Steps for Kansas Sports activities Betting
John Goodyear, a consultant from the League of Kansas Municipalities, stated throughout testimony Thursday it was a matter of when, not if Kansas would have sports activities betting. The “when” might come all the way down to which stakeholders are allowed to take bets — and the way a lot those self same entities can affect laws.
The Home will think about its lottery retailer-friendly sports activities betting invoice at hearings subsequent week. The Senate will take up its invoice, and any potential amendments, Feb. 24.
Although pockets of conservative opposition stay, Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and lots of pro-business Republicans help authorized wagering. Growing regional competitors for Kansas sports activities betting {dollars} in Colorado and Iowa — and particularly laws below dialogue in Missouri – may additionally compel Jayhawk State lawmakers to discover a answer.
This week’s listening to reiterates that it received’t come with out opposition.
