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In the US gambling industry, April is a chance for everyone to catch their breath. That held true in Kansas for 2023, as revenue across the state’s four casinos and multiple sportsbooks took a slight downturn.
Despite that, Kansas’ gaming licensees are still on pace to post their best numbers yet in 2023. April’s numbers simply point to the year’s final total perhaps not being jaw-dropping in comparison to previous years.
Kansas casinos miss half a beat in April
April’s reputation for meager returns for casinos proved true, but just slightly in Kansas for 2023. The Kansas Lottery shared that the state’s four casinos won $35.5 million during the month. That total includes poker, slots and table games, but excludes in-person sports betting.
That’s a drop of about 6.1% as compared to Kansas casino revenue for March. It’s essentially on par with what the properties produced in April of 2022, shrinking by a negligible 1.45%. Regardless, the four casinos are still ahead of where they were at this point through the previous fiscal year.
The Kansas Lottery says those properties are up 1.55% year-over-year in that measurement. Comparing the first four months of calendar year 2023 and the same time frame in 2022 also nets a slight improvement. Kansas’ casinos are up about 3.4% in that measurement.
If the margins stay where they are over the next two months, Kansas casinos will complete their most lucrative year to date. However, the disparity will probably only be a couple of percentage points. Even marginal growth is still preferable for Kansas’ tax coffers, though.
That state treasury saw its smallest haul from legal sports betting activity yet in April.
Sports bettors take a break in Kansas
The Kansas Lottery’s sports wagering report for April shows an unprecedented number. Online and physical sportsbooks in the state during the month took just $132.9 million in bets, the lowest amount of money for the state in any month since legal sports betting began in September 2022.
In a similar fashion, though, this is expected and normal. With no NFL games and the Kansas City Royals struggling to win, every sportsbook operator in the state would have predicted this kind of a decline.
On that money, sportsbooks claimed $9.1 million in taxable revenue. As a result, the state’s share for the month came to $919,720. In Kansas, that amount of tax revenue from sports betting is actually quite respectable.
As a matter of fact, the only month in which Kansas collected more sports betting taxes was December 2022. Kansas’ allowances for promotional and other deductions for its sports betting licensees are generous. In April, though, there was comparatively little for books to frame promotions around.
Sportsbooks are likely unbothered as they know the 2023-24 NFL season is coming. The spring and summer lulls give them time to prepare for when things ramp back up.
