DraftKings gains access to Kansas with Boot Hill Casino deal

DraftKings has scored a new partnership that could see it launch in Kansas when the state passes legislation to authorize sports betting.

The sportsbook announced on Tuesday that it had inked an agreement with Butler National Corporation’s BHCMC LLC, the company that operates Boot Hill Casino & Resort in Dodge City. This latest deal with the casino operator allows DraftKings to pursue a mobile sports betting license and rollout its online sportsbook in the Sunflower State via a partnership with Boot Hill Casino.

However, the partners have to wait for the state to legalize the market before they can launch their offering. The deal is also subject to regulatory approval.

Partners look forward to enabling legislation

In its press statement about the partnership with Boot Hill Casino, DraftKings said that gaining market access in Kansas was a step in the right direction for the company as it continues to work on bolstering its online presence.

The operator further said that it is hopeful that the state will pass laws to authorize mobile betting in future, adding that the market would be beneficial to the precinct and its citizens.

“As we continue our quest to expand our mobile sportsbook footprint to every state in the US, we are eager to begin working with Boot Hill Casino & Resort,” said DraftKings’ Senior Vice President of Business Development, Jeremy Elbaum, in a press statement.

“We look forward to the opportunities that lay head and remain optimistic that Kansas lawmakers will enact common sense legislation that will benefit the state and its constituents.”

Boot Hill also issued a statement to welcome the agreement with DraftKings, saying the partnership would bring a top-notch mobile betting experience to sports fans in Kansas “when the law allows”.

“As manager for Boot Hill Casino & Resort for the Kansas Lottery, we are pleased to work with DraftKings to bring first in class mobile sportsbook to Kansas,” said Boot Hill Casino & Resort CEO Clark Stewart.

“DraftKings is a leader in this fast-growing industry and will bring a trusted, experienced mobile sports betting application to sports fans in Kansas, when the law allows.”

DraftKings is currently operational in 18 states across the country, with recent launches in Arizona, Connecticut, Wyoming, and most recently, Louisiana.

The operator is also looking forward to opening a retail sportsbook at the Maryland State Fairgrounds, subject to regulatory approval. Also, DraftKings was among the nine operators approved to pursue online sportsbook licenses in New York.

Will Kansas legalize sports betting in 2022?

Kansas was one of the states expected to pass sports betting this year after efforts to legalize the market in 2020 were derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The state’s lawmakers carried the momentum into this year, with two measures being introduced in the legislature in January. The first was a Senate-backed bill, S 283, which sought to expand the state Lottery and allow the four casinos in Kansas to offer retail and mobile betting. Each casino would be allowed to partner with up to three online sportsbooks under the measure, and the tax rate would be 5.5% of gross receipts for retail operators and 8% for mobile.

S 283 passed the Senate in late February, but the House State and Local Affairs Committee put it on the back burner, choosing to move forward with H 2671 instead. The House-backed bill proposed a market monopolized by the Kansas Lottery, and it also allowed the state’s racetracks to contract with the lottery for the offering.

Commenting on the State and Local affairs Committee’s decision to lay S 283 aside, the Committee chair, Representative John Barker, said that the House needed to pass its own bill first, but it was open to further negotiations with the Senate in conference.

However, the two factions did not meet to discuss the differences in the bills before this year’s legislative session adjourned in May, and we can only wait to see if they will succeed in passing a measure when the state legislature convenes in January 2022.