Feds OK Sports Betting for Kansas Tribe

Posted on: July 18, 2023, 01:23h. 

Last updated on: July 19, 2023, 11:56h.

Nick Juliano Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Legislation.

The federal government has approved a plan to offer sports betting at a tribal casino in Kansas. The move clears the way for the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation to open a sportsbook at its Prairie Band Casino & Resort this year.

 

Prairie Band Casino and Resort
The entrance to the Prairie Band Casino and Resort, above. The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation received approval from the federal government to proceed with sports betting this year.

Kansas last month amended its Class III Tribal-State Gaming Compact with the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. That allows the tribe to offer sports betting at its casino on tribal land in Mayetta, Kansas, about 25 miles north of Topeka.

The US Interior Department’s Bureau of Indian Affairs Tuesday published a notice in the Federal Register approving the compact amendment and allowing it to go into effect immediately.

The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation is the first tribe in Kansas to be approved to offer a sportsbook, and it aims to launch its sportsbook by the fourth quarter of this year. Tribal Council Chairman Joseph “Zeke” Rupnick told a local television station that the sportsbook could open as soon as September.

If all goes according to plan, bettors should be able to place bets on most NFL and college football games this year.

“Initially, we’re going to have a sports betting room that’s going to be located in the casino, and our hope is going to be to offer up a mobile app,” Rupnick told Kansas City-based Fox 4.

Level Playing Field

Kansas legalized sports betting at its commercial casinos last year, and Rupnick said he looks forward to being on the “same playing field” as those competitors.

To be honest with you, it was a quite cumbersome process, and I didn’t really think it was going to get it done this year,” Rupnick told the Fox affilate. “But thanks to the governor’s staff, their leadership, along with the leadership of the elected members of the House and Senate, we were able to get this done.”

Sports betting in Kansas began in September 2022, and available operators include Barstool Sportsbook, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, FanDuel, and PointsBet.

Sportsbooks settled more than $98 million in wagers to generate $4 million of revenue in June, the most recent month for which data is available, according to the Kansas Lottery. About $3 million was wagered in-person, with more than $94 million coming via online sportsbooks.

The state’s share of the proceeds totaled $409,425 for June.