Kansas Committee Gets to Work on Bill
The Kansas House approved it’s version of a sports wagering bill. Today, the House and Senate “conference committee” met to work out the differences between their two versions of the bill. No conference report was adopted.
The Senate Chair, Senator Olson, said he wanted some time to look/study what the House did, but he noted on a few occasions that he felt they were “close.” There was no time specified for when the next conference committee meeting would be, but the Kansas House will be breaking starting tomorrow until late April. They come back on the 04/25 and have until 05/20 to complete their work.
Below are the key data points for the House passed version of SB 84 and here is an engrossed version of the bill that replaces what the Senate passed last year.
Skins
- Each ”lottery gaming facility manager” (i.e. a casino) shall be limited to three “interactive sports wagering platforms” (i.e. online sportsbooks). So three market access points per 4 casino = 12 brands.
- Additionally, a casino may apply to the Kansas lottery for approval of one additional graphical user interface (a true skin) that can be used by a professional sports team that has a marketing agreement with a casino. This language is confusing (See Sec. 4), but it appears that this engagement would be limited to be available at the sports teams facility.
Tax Rate
- In the house passed bill the online sports betting tax rate is 20%. The retail sports betting tax rate is 14%.
- The rate is significantly lower in the Senate bill. 5% and 8.5% respectively.
License Fees
- The bills do not include fees for operator or supplier licensing and leaves it to the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission) to establish license fees.