Lawmakers in Kansas continue to push for legislation that will ultimately legalize and regulate sports betting in the Sunflower State. Rep. Jan Kessinger is one of the lawmakers at the forefront of these attempts, and he said that he plans to present new proposals on the issue to the Special Committee on Federal and State Affairs.
Special hearings presented the idea of sports betting to lawmakers in recent weeks. The Committee is expected to draft legislation in the near future, perhaps making Kansas the 8th state to legalize sports betting in the United States.
According to Kessinger, there is a real “appetite” for betting in the state. Although it is still premature to guess on the tax rate that will be slapped on a future sports betting industry, Kessinger said that his hope is that “it is low enough to encourage participation by players and be profitable for both the vendors and the state.”
Kessinger, who believes that betting could raise as much as $75 million per year for the state, also predicts that mobile betting will become an “integral part of the law.”
“The casinos will be major players and my hope is that we can set up something for Lottery Keno social settings to have on-site sports betting also,” he said.
No legislation is planned to be introduced in the upcoming session in January.