Kansas AG finds errors in proposed sports betting regulations

The office of the Attorney General of Kansas has found “significant legal issues” with the proposed regulations on sports betting put out by the Kansas Lottery. It has asked lottery officials to review the regulations as the state looks to launch legal sports betting ahead of the NFL season.

Governor Laura Kelly recently announced that retail and digital sports betting will begin in the state with a soft launch on September 1 and a full launch on September 8. This is after Kansas lawmakers passed Senate Bill 84, which legalised sports betting in the state on May 12, with the law becoming effective July 1.

According to John Milburn, spokesman for AG Derek Smith, several of the proposed regulations largely concerning advertising guidelines, legal definitions, and marketing agreements were rejected for “specific shortcomings that must be remedied”, while just three were approved. He added in the official statement that the AG’s office has the sole task of overseeing the state lottery’s proposed regulations while checking for errors that may be made “in the hurried drafting of regulations that affect millions of dollars in wagering activity”.

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While responding to the statement from the AG’s office, the spokesman for Kansas Lottery, Cory Throne, reiterated that the rejection of the proposed regulations was not because of a bad relationship between the agencies.

“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,” he said.

“Given our past experiences in working with the Attorney General’s Office, at this point, we still believe we will make the September 1 soft launch date.”

Due to intense public interest, the AG’s office is fast-tracking the process to deliver regulated sports wagering, especially on the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL, as soon as possible in the state.

“We intend to approve these regulations as soon as the agency fixes the legal problems in their initial version,” Milburn stated.

With the approval of the proposed regulations from the AG’s office, bets can be placed on mobile apps and in person by September 1 at the four state-owned casinos – Boot Hill Casino & Resort, Kansas Star Casino, Hollywood Casino, and Kansas Crossing Casino & Hotel. Tribal casinos are also looking to work with the state for sports betting.

Kansas will be the second-fastest state after Iowa to move from legalization to launch, while joining around 30 other states that have legalized sports betting.

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