Kansas Monthly Sportsbook Revenue Record Falls in December

On a positive note, Kansas closed out its first full year of legal sports betting, and so did some of our best sportsbooks operating within the state.

The Kansas Lottery December revenue report was released Monday, and it revealed a new monthly record profit total for Kansas sports betting apps and the state's retail sportsbooks.

While the December 2023 handle was nearly double that of 2022, it fell just short of the sports wagering activity record set in November. Ultimately, December’s totals took the year-long handle for the Kansas sports betting scene just past the $2 billion mark milestone.

$259.7 million December handle

Bettors spent $259.7 million in December as they took advantage of numerous Kansas sportsbook promos. That number fell just $1.2 million shy of the record handle set in November but was a whopping 42.7% year-over-year improvement from the nearly $182 million reported in December 2022.

The mobile side of the industry dominated the Kansas scene in December. Kansas sports betting sites made up $249.1 million of last month’s handle.

Kansas ended 2023 with four straight months of more than $219 million in sports wagers. That streak helped the Sunflower State end the year with just over $2 billion in total sports bets.

Revenue record set in December

While the Kansas sports betting handle didn't set a record in December, revenues for the state's sportsbooks did. According to the Kansas Lottery, $30.9 million in gross gaming revenue resulted from the second-best handle ever for state sports wagering providers.

That is a nearly $13 million month-over-month improvement from the $18 million reported in November and betters the previous monthly profits record of $25.9 million set in October. It nearly doubles the $16.8 million from December 2022.

The main reason for the revenue spike was a state-friendly 11.9% hold reported in December, the fourth highest in Kansas history. The hold, combined with the impressive handle, was the reason for the new revenue record.

By comparison, the hold rate during the best-handle month for Kansas sportsbooks was 6.9% in November.

Taxes paid by Kansas sportsbooks in December topped $2 million for the first time since the state's legal sports wagering platform launched in September 2022. December's totals put the year-end tax contribution at just over $10 million.

DraftKings dominates

DraftKings came out on top of the battle to be the best Kansas sportsbook in December. For the third straight month, the betting behemoth topped $100 million in bets in the Sunflower State with $103.8 million. It topped December revenues as well for with $11.9 million.

FanDuel Kansas was a predictable second, taking in $86.5 million in bets and reporting $10.3 million in revenues. BetMGM Kansas was third in the race with about $22.5 million in accepted wagers in December.

ESPN BET Kansas finished fourth, about 100K behind BetMGM. ESPN BET claimed about 9.1% of the Kansas market share last month, far from their goal of having 20% of the American market share within the next few years.