Wanna make a bet in Kansas? Teams such as Sporting KC will be eager to help you engage
The timing of the state of Kansas making sports betting legal couldn’t have been better for fans of the Kansas City Chiefs — or any other NFL team.
Gambling will be allowed Sept. 1, shortly before the start of the 2022 NFL season, but there will be more to bet on than just football. The final month of the Major League Baseball schedule will be followed by the start of baseball’s postseason.
Ditto for the Major League Soccer season.
And that should mean brisk business for bettors and those accommodating them alike.
“We’re champing at the bit,” Rob Thomson, Sporting Kansas City’s chief communications officer, said of legalized gambling. “We’re excited to get going.”
Although Thomson declined to say whether a retail sportsbook location would be opened at Children’s Mercy Park, the MLS team’s stadium in Kansas City, Kansas, Jake Reid — the team’s chief operating officer — told reporters in May that the law would allow for kiosks in the stadium.
Reid said those kiosks likely wouldn’t be ready during the 2022 season, but fans eventually will be able to place a bet at a Sporting KC game.
Here are other ways people in Kansas will be able to wager on sporting events.
Online betting
The Kansas Lottery can authorize sports wagering platforms, such as a phone app, through the four casinos with which the state of Kansas contracts.
Those apps, as identified by KCSP (610 AM)’s Alex Gold, are Draft Kings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Kansas Caesar’s, Bally Bet and PointsBet.
Chris Boan, lead writer for Gambling.com Group media sites that include BetKansas.com and BetArizona.com, explained how a fan would set up an account.
“You’ll download the app on your phone, if you want to do it that way,” Boan said. “You’ll enter your account information — you have to enter a Social Security number, something so they can basically make sure you are who you say you are. They will have all of them partner with geolocating services so that they track you at all times, so that they make sure that you’re in the state that you say you are when you’re betting.
“And then after that, you can place a deposit, however much (money you want to spend). ... and then you can log in and then you can bet.”
In-person betting
Bettors who don’t want the gambling apps to track their movements will have the option of placing in-person bets.
When Gov. Laura Kelly signed the bill to legalize sports betting in May, she said it would help brick-and-mortar locations.
“This is another mechanism that casinos, restaurants and other entertainment venues can now utilize to attract Kansans to their establishments,” Kelly said in a statement.
Wagers also will be allowed in certain casinos and at sports arenas. That includes Children’s Mercy Park and Kansas Speedway.
Reid, the Sporting Kansas City executive, said in May that the team could envision a betting lounge, or walk-up betting spots, at Children’s Mercy Park.
“I think it’ll have a profound effect on fan engagement,” Reid said. “The level that people are paying attention to the sport, I’ve kind of equated before to fantasy football. I don’t think that’s probably a complete apples-to-apples comparison, but I think the engagement level from fans will increase across the board.
“I think that goes for in-stadium ... I think that goes for you, if you’re consuming on TV or mobile or, you know, watching from outside the actual venue. So I think for us, we see it as a net positive all around.”
The Star’s Katie Bernard contributed to this story
If you are concerned that you or someone you know may have a gambling problem and need help, call 800-522-4700 or visit ksgamblinghelp.com.
