Kansas Sports Betting Hits $248.8 Million in September

Kansas saw a big surge in sports betting in September 2024, with a total handle of $248.8 million, up $100 million from August’s $147 million. The start of the fall sports season, football in particular, was the reason for the big jump.

Bettors Lose More as Hold Rate Increases

While betting was up, Kansas bettors had a tough month as the hold rate—the portion of wagers sportsbooks get to keep after paying out—increased from 7.2% in August to 13.6% in September.

That meant more money for operators with $18.3 million in net revenue, up from $6.5 million in August. The state also benefited with $1.8 million in taxes for the month.

Top Operators

DraftKings remained the top dog in Kansas’s legal sports betting market. BetMGM had a big month with an 85% increase in online betting, while DraftKings was up 76%.

Together those two operators accounted for most of Kansas’s sports betting in September.

At the retail level, ESPN BET had $6.2 million in bets, almost double the combined handle of the other three retail sportsbooks which had $2.8 million.

But ESPN BET’s retail handle was close to its online handle, so maybe it needs to work on its online presence in Kansas where most bets are placed online.