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The Kansas Legislature approved an agreement allowing the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska to update their gaming compact to allow sports betting.
In a 30-5 vote, the Kansas Senate ed the measure SR 1750, as the House voted 101-20 to adopt HR 6045. Both resolutions must receive Gov. Laura Kelly’s approval and be signed off by the US Department of Interior.
The tribe currently operates Casino White Cloud along the Missouri River in Brown County.
Tribe of Kansas’ gaming compact is identical to one approved for Prairie Band
The scenario follows a similar example of Prairie Band Casino and Resort in Mayetta, which kicked off earlier this year.
According to the Kansas Reflector article, attorney and a member of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, Russ Brien, said:
“This is substantively, other than changing the names and dates, identical to the compact this committee approved last year for Prairie Band.”
The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, which manages a casino about 15 miles north of Topeka, was the first tribal casino in Kansas to finalize the sports betting process in July 2023. It was after the Senate approved the tribe’s revised compact (27-8), endorsed in the House (93-27).
US sports betting gained momentum in 2018; Kansas went live in 2022
The push for sports betting in the US gained momentum after May 2018 when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the state of New Jersey in Murphy vs. NCAA. That overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), allowing individual states to determine whether and how to legalize sports betting.
Since then, legal sports betting has expanded to 38 US states, with several states looking to introduce legislation concerning sports gambling.
After years of debate, the Kansas Legislature ed a bill in 2022 allowing online and retail sports betting at both state-licensed and tribal casinos. The bill applies to the following state-licensed Kansas casinos:
- Boot Hill Casino and Resort in Dodge City
- Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City
- Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane
- Kansas Crossing Casino in Pittsburg
The tribes in Kansas can also offer sports betting, but they must obey a different procedure for full regulatory approval. Entities interested in sports betting must submit a request to the governor and engage in negotiations on the of the agreement.
According to Kansas Reflector, Justin Whitten, chief counsel to the governor, emphasized that the revised compact would authorize in-person sports betting on reservation land held by the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska. He said that the compact contained a “trigger mechanism” that would pave the way for potential remote online casinos in Kansas.
Kansas casino revenue in February 2024 totaled $34.3 million from poker, slots, and table games.
