Kansas Lottery recaps 1st year for legal sports betting in state

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - Friday, Sept. 1, kicks off the first full weekend of the football season and the one-year anniversary of legal sports betting in Kansas. The Kansas Lottery reports a successful start, receiving nearly $6 million in revenue from sports betting over the past year.

“We’ve learned a lot and we’re still learning, and we exceeded our projections,” said Kansas Lottery Public Information Officer Cory Thone.

The Kansas Lottery said there were many highlights for Kansas sports bettors over the past year but in the Chiefs Super Bowl win, the state of Kansas only brought in $1,300.

“We also learned the hard way, when the home town team wins the Super Bowl that you don’t make a lot of money when you’re running a sports betting operation, but this is totally worth it. Here in Kansas, we bet on the Chiefs,” Thone said.

NCAA Division I schools in the state, Kansas and Kansas State, are also attracting fans to place their bets.

“This has been a pretty incredible year for sports in the Sunflower State,” Thone said. “KU and K-State for example, in multiple sports were really good this year, exceeding expectations and everything else, making the [NCAA Men’s Basketball] Tournament, making bowl games,” Thone said. “So, there has been a lot of sports excitement in the fall.”

While celebrating the highlights, the state also addresses cases of gambling addiction.

Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission Relations Manager Randy Evans said sports bettors that feel they have a problem can contact the Problem Gambling Helpline provided by the state and apply to be excluded from sports gambling on their mobile devices. Kansans can reach the helpline at 800-522-4700.

If you or anyone you know has a sports gambling addiction, you can find a list of resources to get help here: https://kdads.ks.gov/kdads-commissions/behavioral-health/services-and-programs/problem-gambling-services.