One sportsbook, BetMGM, has not paid a cent in state taxes through April 2023 by claiming $18.6 million in promotional deductions despite bringing in $17.5 million more from wagers than it paid out in prizes.

The sportsbooks in Kansas have claimed nearly $80 million in promotional deductions from September 2022 through April 2023, according to numbers reported by the Kansas Lottery. Colorado is the only state bordering Kansas that currently has legalized sports betting, along with 31 other states and Washington, D.C. “It was probably the biggest ask from lobbyists was that they would be allowed to deduct promos,” said John Holden, an associate professor in the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University who has monitored the expansion of legalized sports betting in the United States. Whether or not it is right, it is legal under the Kansas sports betting law enacted last year by the Kansas Legislature and signed by Gov. That’s not right.” Sportsbooks use terms of Kansas law to minimize state taxes That’s money to hook the player in, money to entice them to play and to get them started. “I call that get-into-debt money instead of free-play money,” said Roberts, who is also the chair of the South Central Kansas Problem Gambling Task Force. The deductions reduce what is considered revenue and taxable by the state. “Is criminal too strong a word?” asked Roberts, when she learned from a reporter that Kansas allows sportsbooks to deduct “ free plays or other promotional credits” before assessing state tax, basically allowing sportsbooks to advertise their product for free.

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