Key Points
- Positive first year for sportsbooks in KS
- DraftKings emerged at market-leader
- Over $1.85 billion in Kentucky sports bets recorded
Over $1.85 Billion of Bets in First Year of Kansas Betting
It’s been a successful first year of operation for sportsbooks in Kansas. The six legal operators have managed to take in over $1.85 billion in sports bets since mobile sports betting was introduced in the Sunflower State since September 2022. DraftKings has battled its way to the top of the pile, while other sportsbooks such as PointsBet and Barstool have struggled to create any meaningful market share.
Kansas’ first year of sports betting exceeds expectations
Sportsbooks in Kansas have recorded over $1.85 billion in sports betting handle in the state’s first full year of legal sports betting. This figure has helped the Sunflower State collect just short of $7 million in sports betting taxes since September 2022.
In this time period, Kansas sportsbooks managed to achieve a win rate of 9% and this has helped to create over $166 million in revenues. What’s remarkable is the fact that 96% of all bets in the Sunflower State were placed online via one of the licensed sportsbook apps.
Such figures have helped to smash the predictions for the total revenues generated from sports betting in the Sunflower State, and there’s no reason why things can’t get even bigger and better.
August brings another successful month for KS sportsbooks
Kansas’ sportsbooks have shown no signs of slowing down as they drew to the close of their first full year of operation. August 2023 saw the overall number of sports bets taken reach an impressive $94.4 million which is a monthly increase of over 18% compared to July. That month saw just $79.9 million in sports betting handle.
Sports betting revenues among sportsbooks in KS was also up in August with $7.6 million generated. This helped to bring in $484,000 in taxes into the state coffers for the month.
The battle for sports betting supremacy in Kansas
Of the six online sportsbooks currently legal in Kansas, it was DraftKings who managed to have the best first year of operation.
DraftKings
has held onto the lion’s share of the market since September 2022, and it took in $753.5 million in sports bets which works out as being 43% of the total betting handle for the Sunflower State. With over $67.7 million taken in revenues during the first full year of sports betting, DraftKings also took 42% of the overall online revenue share among the licensed sportsbooks.
In second place was DraftKings’ fierce rival, FanDuel, who managed to take in $538.5 million in sports bets and generate $56 million in total sports betting revenues.
Following up close behind was BetMGM who managed to take in just short of $224 million in sports bets in the past year which accounted for 13% of the total handle in KY. BetMGM generated $21.9 million in revenues in its first year of KY sports betting operation.
Next in line was Caesars who took in $120.4 million in sports betting handle that gave it 7% of the total number of online bets taken since September 2022. This helped Caesars create $6.8 million in sports betting revenues in the same time period.
Elsewhere,
PointsBet
struggled for market share throughout its tenure in Kansas. The Australian company recently had its US operations bought out by Fanatics and KS sports fans can look forward to seeing what the ‘PointsBet, a Fanatics experience’ brings them in the coming months.
Similarly, Barstool had a tough year, and it was recently dropped by Penn Entertainment as that company switches its focus to the forthcoming launch of ESPN Bet.
The four casinos in Kansas can operate their own retail sportsbooks and partner up with as many as three online operators each. This means that there could be anywhere up to 12 online sportsbooks operating in the Sunflower State, but it’s hard to see who would be willing to enter such a congested market.
Conclusion – A successful year for Kansas’ sportsbooks
Kansas has had a successful first year of operation in terms of legal sports betting. The six legal sportsbooks have managed to give sports fans in the Sunflower State a safe and fair way to bet on sport.
Like in many other states, DraftKings and FanDuel have managed to become market-leaders, while other brands such as PointsBet and Barstool have fallen by the wayside.
It’s going to be interesting to see how the reenergized PointsBet takes a hold in the KS betting market following its acquisition by Fanatics. Plus with positive figures for August, it looks like sports betting in Kansas is going from strength to strength. All of which hints at an even better second year for online sportsbooks in the Sunflower State.
