Kansas is only days away from joining 30-plus states that already offer some form of sports betting. According to a press release Friday from the Kansas Lottery, six of a potential 12 operators have been approved to launch mobile platforms as early as noon Thursday.
Also, the Barstool Sportsbook at Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway appears to be the lone retail location aiming to open this week. According to a Barstool Sportsbook press release, the company will open a temporary sportsbook with 30 kiosks and five teller windows.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly recently announced the plan is for the Kansas Lottery to hold a soft launch for sports betting beginning at mid-day Thursday, followed by a full opening on Sept. 8, which is the first day of the NFL season. According to the new law, each of the four state-operated casinos —Β Boot Hill Casino, Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway, Kansas Crossing Casino, and Kansas Star Casino — will be allowed to offer retail sportsbooks and mobile sports betting with as many as three digital platforms or applications.
As a whole, Kansas will allow up to a dozen legal sportsbooks to operate in the state, and consumers can expect Barstool Sportsbook, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook,Β DraftKings, and FanDuelΒ to be among those that go live first.
Nine have access, six approved so far
Here’s a look at the nine operators that have announced market access and their status as of Monday:
Boot Hill Casino and Resort: Located in Dodge City, the casino has already partnered with three sports betting platforms: Bally Bet, DraftKings, and Golden Nugget. Of the three, only DraftKings has approval to go live Thursday, according to the lottery. There will also be a DraftKings retail sportsbook at the casino, and a spokesman said a temporary book will open in October.
Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway: The venue has plans to offer retail and mobile sports betting through PENN Entertainment’s Barstool Sports platform as early as Thursday. FOX Bet is also partnering with Hollywood Casino to offer mobile sports betting, but according to the lottery it does not yet have go-live approval.
Kansas Crossing Casino: The casino has partnered for mobile sports betting withΒ BetMGM, Caesars, and PointsBet, all of which have lottery approval to go live Thursday. Caesars will operate a retail sportsbook at Kansas Crossing, but no information is available about when that will open.
Kansas Star Casino: The casino will offer retail and mobile sports betting through FanDuel. While FanDuel has approval to go live Thursday and has plans to do so online/mobile, it’s unclear what the status of the retail sportsbook is.