Sports betting in Kansas is still rather young, as the activity has only been legal in the state since September. The first two months for sports betting in the state were not to expectations, to say the least, Kansas natives didn’t come out as expected, but slowly but surely, it picked up as the football season carried on, as well as the basketball season truly getting into its groove.
Despite being one of the smaller states in the country, Kansas has a very rich sports history, especially when it comes to football, basketball, and soccer. While Kansas itself also doesn’t have any professional sports team, the University of Kansas is home to one of the country’s truly elite men’s basketball programs, and it’s residents are also hardcore fans of the sports teams that call Kansas City, Missouri home.
With that, sports betting in Kansas should be quite popular. However, early 2022 returns were smaller than expected. With that being said, what should be expectations for Kansas in 2023? We take a look at that below. New Kansas sports bettors can take advantage of Caesars Sportsbooks promo codes, here.
How Did Kansas Sports Wagering Perform in 2022?
The first thing that is clear is that Kansas natives love to bet more on apps rather than in person. According to KSHB 41 in Kansas City, over $177 million gambled online or only through mobile applications. In December, that number grew again, with over $221 million gambled online.
While the overall numbers are still low compared to some states, both November and December were still a vast improvement to the first two months of sports betting in Kansas, which saw just $158 million wagered, an average of $79 million per month. The revenue for the state, in general, was extremely low as well, with the state bringing in just $10.7 million in 2022. The increase in November and December should also not come as a surprise, as the FIFA World Cup took place in Qatar.
What Will 2023 Bring to Kansas?
Notably seen, as the months went on, sports betting became more and more popular in Kansas. It took residents some time. We could look at states similar to Kansas in population to look at what could be in store for The Wheat State; two states that had sports betting throughout the year with similar populations are Mississippi and Iowa.
In 2022, Mississippi garnered $1.9 billion, an average of $158 million per month, while Iowa had over $5.1 billion, an average of $425 million. While it may be hard for Kansas to reach Iowa’s $425 million per month in handles, Mississippi’s $158 million per month would be a strong baseline for the state. However, based on Kansas’s increase in handles each month, I only could likely guess that it will continue to increase gradually over the next few months before likely plateauing; where would that plateau be? Perhaps $300 million per month? Or $400 million? The answer is likely somewhere in between though it would be hard to lockdown.
That being said, the first quarter of the year should provide a good idea of what will be in store for the entire year. The state should see quite the increase in betting starting January thanks to the NFL playoffs, making way into February for the Super Bowl. The state’s favorite NFL team, the Kansas City Chief, is one of this year’s favorites to win the AFC Championship and the Super Bowl.
It won’t be long after the Super Bowl that another one of the year’s biggest sports betting events takes place, the NCAA Tournament, which begins in March. The state’s top two programs, the Kansas Jayhawks and Kansas State Wildcats, are both among the country’s top teams this season in men’s college basketball. The Jayhawks are currently ranked No.2 in the country, while the Wildcats are ranked 11th in the nation and have been surging over the last several weeks.
If the state struggles through the NFL playoffs and NCAA Tournament on the sports betting front, it would be a dark omen of what’s to come for the state and sports betting. However, it could also work as a catapult for the state to see higher revenue throughout the year on the sports betting front. The Super Bowl is one of the biggest sports betting days of the year, and like the FIFA World Cup, the NCAA Tournament brings even the most casual sports bettors out in droves.
If the Super Bowl and NCAA Tournament could increase the sports betting base in the state of Kansas, it could pay dividends throughout the rest of 2023 and beyond.
