Kansas Sportsbooks See Strong Start; Ohio in Crunch Mode
The state of Kansas officially launched sports betting on September 1, bringing another new option to bettors in the Midwest. According to the first reports from the Kansas Lottery, sportsbooks in the state were extremely successful in the first 10 days.
Ohio is a state that will launch betting on January 1, 2023, but it’s unclear how smooth that launch will be. Regulators are working around the clock to get everything set up, but it’s been overwhelming up to this point.
The total sports betting handle for the first 10 days in Kansas was $39 million on 2.4 million bets. Those numbers are similar to what the state of Connecticut saw when it launched sports betting, and the states are close to the same size.
Kansas was able to plan the launch right around the start of NFL football season, and college football was up and running. This state is never going to be a massive market, but a well-timed launch will help produce some terrific numbers.
The state of Kansas also got a boost from the fact that Missouri has not yet legalized sports betting, and won’t be doing so anytime soon. According to GeoComply, There have been nearly 350,000 illegal attempts to place bets from people still in the state of Missouri.
There were very few issues during the first 10 days of sports betting as well, and that was due to the operators that were able to launch in the state.
Still Licenses Available in Kansas
When Kansas lawmakers started to nail down the official sports betting rules and regulations, they wanted to create a competitive market. This was done by allowing each of the four casinos in the state to apply for up to three online sports betting skins.
There are currently just six online sportsbooks live in the state, and there isn’t a plan for any other new sites to go live anytime soon. Casinos are happy with their current partners, and all of them have been successful up to this point.
Retail betting is also available in the state of Kansas, but it’s mobile sportsbooks that are driving the industry.
Crunch Time in Ohio
The Ohio sports betting law says that the sports betting industry must launch no later than January 1, 2023. That is going to be the launch date in Ohio, but it’s starting to look as if the industry won’t be fully ready to go by that time.
Part of the problem in the state is that the Ohio Casino Control Commission is reviewing applications for three different types of licenses. Ohio is going to be a state with online sportsbooks, retail sportsbooks, and sports betting kiosks set up throughout the state.
Unlike Kansas, Ohio does have the ability to be a major sports betting market after things get up and running.
