Sports Betting Handle Falls, Revenue Rises in Kansas During July

The Sunflower State’s July handle was down 18.8% month-over-month, but a 12.1% hold on the $9.6 million gross gaming revenue — up 18% month-over-month — helped make up for it.

The Sunflower State's legal sports betting operators kicked off the new fiscal year with a bounceback from the previous month.

The Kansas Lottery reported July’s adjusted revenue of $6.8 million, up 66% month-over-month, on a handle of $79.7 million from online betting sites and retail wagers. 

The increased revenue came from promotional deductions dropping from $3.2 million in June to $1.8 million in July. That led to a $683,176 tax payout to the state in July — up from the previous month’s $409,425. 

The Sunflower State’s July handle was down 18.8% monthly, but a 12.1% hold on the $9.6 million GGR, up 18% month-over-month, helped make up for it. 

The six mobile sports betting operators in Kansas produced a handle of $77.4 million, which made up 97% of the wagering, and the revenue before deductions was over $9.3 million. 

The four retail sportsbooks accounted for $2.2 million of the total handle and GGR of over $331,000. 

Big July for DraftKings

DraftKings led online Kansas sports betting in July with a handle of $35.2 million, and was also tops in the Sunflower State with a revenue of $4.1 million. 

The mobile giant gave out $818,000 in promotions — nearly $600,000 less than in June — and hauled in $3.2 million in adjusted revenue, which was up 146% month-over-month.

DraftKings also paid out $321,285 in taxes, nearly half the state’s share, and outpaced rival FanDuel, which had the second-highest July handle in Kansas at $22.7 million, about $4 million from the previous month. Revenue topped out at $3.1 million, giving FanDuel a 13.7% hold before deducting $650,145 for promotions. 

BetMGM edges Caesars

BetMGM, which had its last month without paying state taxes, produced a handle of $7.6 million that just edged out Caesars and its $7.56 million in wagers. However, BetMGM had over $600,000 in net carryover deductions from the previous month and spent more than $267,000 in promotions in July to claim just $45,401 in revenue. Caesars had gross revenue of over $506,000 because of a 6.7% hold. 

Barstool Sportsbook, which will rebrand this fall as ESPN Bet, used a 14% hold to produce over $526,000 in revenue on a handle of $3.7 million. Barstool also led retail outlets with a handle of $1.7 million and gross revenue of over $326,000.

PointsBet finished last among online operators in the Sunflower State with a handle of $649,403.