The Kansas Lottery is working to take care of a major hurdle that remains in the way of the state’s rollout of sports betting.
In an emailed statement sent to BetKansas.com, Cory Thone, who serves as the public information officer for the Lottery, said the agency is addressing concerns from the Attorney General’s Office about the state’s sports betting rules.
The best Kansas sportsbooks are scheduled for a soft launch Sept. 1 with a goal of having any issues resolved when the NFL kicks off its regular season Sept. 8.
“The Lottery provided revised rules and regulations to the Attorney General’s office this morning. We appreciate the Attorney General’s office committing to an expedited review,” Thone said Tuesday in an emailed statement to BetKansas.com.
The Kansas Lottery was tasked with editing the state’s rules and regulations for wagering after the AG’s Office identified “significant legal issues” last week.
Two weeks ago, the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission put out more than 110 pages of Kansas sports betting draft regulations, covering everything from what constitutes a wager to geofencing regulations and more.
Once betting does go live in the state, BetKansas.com will have all the Kansas sportsbook bonuses.
Kansas Lottery Sees No Hiccups in Proposed Launch Date
Late last week, the AG’s office reported there were legal deficiencies with the state’s rules and regulations that needed to be addressed to avoid future litigation when Kansas betting apps launch.
“Within days, we will be providing our formal feedback to Lottery and giving them the opportunity to correct the legal deficiencies,” said John Milburn, a spokesman for Attorney General Derek Schmidt, in a statement to FOX4 Kansas City last week. “We intend to approve these regulations as soon as the agency fixes the legal problems in their initial version. Our initial review of the proposed regulations from KRGC has begun and is also being expedited.”
Thone previously told BetKansas.com the lottery has long had a fruitful relationship with the AG’s office and didn’t foresee the latest developments causing a delay in Kansas’ sports betting rollout plan.
“The Lottery has had an excellent working relationship with the Attorney General’s Office and there is always an exchange of ideas and legal theories when it comes to rule and regulation approval,” Thone told BetKansas.com last week. “This is an ordinary course of business with the Lottery and The Attorney General’s office, and the Lottery is confident that any issues the Attorney General has potentially identified will be worked out very quickly. Given our past experiences in working with the Attorney General’s Office, at this point we still believe we will make the September 1 soft launch date.”
In the last two weeks, DraftKings Kansas and FanDuel Sportsbook Kansas have unveiled early sign-up deals in the state. The current BetMGM Kansas bonus code offer includes $200 in free bets with no deposit required upon signing up.
More announcements are expected in the coming weeks of national operators partnering with Kansas casinos to offer sports betting. Each Kansas casino can partner with up to three operators.
It's expected there will be an early sign-up Caesars Sportsbook Kansas promo code soon as well.
