Despite legal 'shortcomings,' Kansas sports betting still expected Sept. 1
In what has been described as an “ordinary course of business” between the Kansas Lottery and Kansas Attorney General’s Office, revised Kansas sports betting rules and regulations have been submitted and the state’s sports betting soft launch is still expected for Thursday, Sept. 1, at 12 p.m.
Last week, Kansas Attorney General Public Information Officer John Milburn said the office completed its expedited review of the state’s proposed regulations and identified “specific shortcomings” that need to be addressed before Kansas sports betting can commence.
“The attorney general’s office has completed its expedited, but thorough, review of the several proposed regulations from the Kansas Lottery related to sports wagering and has approved three of those regulations and returned the others to the Kansas Lottery identifying specific shortcomings that must be remedied. We look forward to the Lottery quickly resolving these legal problems and resubmitting the regulations,” Milburn said in an official statement.
An ‘ordinary course of business’
The attorney general identified several necessary revisions of the sports betting regulation rules, which were submitted to the Kansas Lottery in a letter. Marketing agreements, advertising regulations, and specific definitions in the rules need to be addressed before launch, according to the attorney general’s office.
Cory Thone, Director of Social Media and Public Information Officer for the Kansas Lottery, said the Kansas Lottery has an “excellent working relationship with the attorney general’s office” and this is a typical exchange of ideas and legal theories between the two legal bodies.
“This is an ordinary course of business with the Lottery and the attorney general’s office, and the Lottery is confident that any issues the attorney general has potentially identified will be worked out very quickly. Given our past experiences in working with the attorney general’s office, at this point we still believe we will make the Sept. 1 soft launch date,” Thone said.
The Kansas Lottery provided the revised rules and regulations to the attorney general’s office on Aug. 22.
Kansas sports betting soft launch details
Last week, the Kansas Lottery announced a sports betting soft launch for the state on Thursday, Sept. 1, at 12 p.m. local time. A full launch will take place on Thursday, Sept. 8, before the start of the NFL games that evening.
The four state casinos and their online operator partners will only be required to take bets on the NFL, MLB, and NCAAF during the soft launch. A Kansas Lottery spokesperson did say the operators would likely offer more betting events than just those three on Sept. 1, but these are the only three event types required during the soft launch.
By the Sept. 8 full launch the spokesperson said the operators will likely be offering their full catalogue of betting events.
Despite the potentially limited betting catalogue, the spokesperson noted that no other restrictions would be placed on Kansas sports bettors or the operators during the soft launch period. Customers will be able to access online sportsbook apps with no limitations, register and fund accounts, and use offered promo bets as normal.
