The first month of the year was a historic one for Kansas sports betting, with the Sunflower State eclipsing $200 million in handle for the first time.
In total, the six Kansas mobile betting apps collected $206,060,734 in wagers during January, which represented a 13.2% month-over-month increase from December’s $181,977,180.
More importantly, January’s handle erased a two-month slump that saw the state’s wager amount drop from $189,919,311 in October to $186,353,708 in November and $181,977,180 in the final month of 2022.
The overall gross gaming revenue from January dropped 41.9% month-over-month, from December’s $10,305,912 to $5,991,876.
Here’s what else to know about January’s report the Kansas Lottery released Friday morning.
Kansas Sports Betting, January vs. December
BetKansas.com is home to Kansas sports betting promos for Sunday’s Super Bowl, as well as the rest of the college basketball season.
Kansas Casinos See Revenue, Taxes Drop in January
The month of January wasn’t as sweet for the four state-owned casinos in Kansas, with a single digit drop in revenues and taxes during the month.
In total, the quartet reported $33,114,509 in revenue during January, representing a 5.5% month-over-month decline from the December Kansas revenue report total of $35,047,939.
It wasn’t all bad news for the facilities, though, as January’s total represented a 10.6% year-over-year increase from the $29,936,527 the casinos raked in during the first month of 2022.
The state’s cut of the casino action in January was $7,285,192, down 5.5% from December ($7,710,547).
Overall, Mulvane’s Kansas Star Casino & Resort was the leader in revenues at $13,435,567, followed by Hollywood Casino & Resort of Kansas City ($12,631,653), Dodge City’s Boot Hill Casino & Resort ($3,630,648) and Kansas Crossing Casino & Resort of Pittsburg, which finished at $3,416,641 for the month.
DraftKings Continues Kansas Dominance
Among the main themes from January’s report was the continued success DraftKings Kansas has achieved in the marketplace.
The Boston-based operator had $77,667,973 in handle January, topping FanDuel Kansas ($63,371,236) for the No. 1 spot in the state for the fifth straight month.
The state’s other four mobile sportsbooks finished with much smaller returns in January, with BetMGM Sportsbook Kansas ranking third at $25,186,598, followed by Caesars Sportsbook Kansas ($15,116,513), Barstool Sportsbook Kansas ($12,676,870) and PointsBet Kansas ($2,654,224).
Through five months of operation, DraftKings Sportsbook Kansas is the commanding leader in market share at $376,698,109 (40.7%), followed by FanDuel Sportsbook Kansas ($254,893,107/26.6%), BetMGM Kansas ($127,075,139/14.2%), Barstool Sportsbook Kansas ($61,633,456/6.8%), Caesars Sportsbook Kansas ($49,129,920/4.7%) and PointsBet Kansas ($12,367,774/1.4%).
Handle Up While Taxes Decline
Both FanDuel Sportsbook Kansas and Caesars Sportsbook Kansas set new monthly handle records in January, with FaDuel breaking $60 million in handle, while Caesars surged past $10 million in handle for the first time.
But despite the big handle numbers, both revenue and taxes dropped in January. The 41.9% drop in revenue for the month led to a 41.6% drop in taxes taken in by the state — to $598,745 in January from $1,026,140 in December.
January figures to be a big month for handle across the country, as New York state has already reported a new monthly national handle record of $1.788 billion in January.
