Kansas’ Prairie Band Casino Aiming for Tribal Casino Sportsbook Launch

Article ByDavid Weir

June 12, 2023

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Posted in: Kansas Gambling News, US Gambling News, US Sports Betting News

The Prairie Band Casino and Resort in Mayetta, Kansas, plans to become the state’s first tribal casino with a retail sportsbook by the end of 2023.

That goal moved one step closer at the end of last week, when its owners, The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, approved a new Tribal-State Gaming Compact that includes retail sports betting for the Kansas’ tribes.

“We are pleased to provide yet another amenity for our guests to “Play Your Way” while visiting our property,” Bill Marsh, General Manager of the Prairie Band Casino, told local news outlet KSNT. “As a result of our extensive research, we’ve found there is a place for the Prairie Band Sportsbook in the sports betting market.”

Kansas legalized retail and online sports betting in September 2022. However, it has taken more than six months to negotiate new contracts with the state’s tribal casinos on the issue.

Related: The top online sportsbooks in Kansas, reviewed and rated

World’s Leading Odds Provider

The Prairie Band Casino plans to launch its sportsbook by Q4 2023, according to its Director of Gaming, Chris Garrow. That means sometime between October 1and the end of the year.

“We are partnering with the world’s leading odds provider and others to give our guests the finest sports betting experience,” said Garrow.

“The casino will have kiosks throughout the gaming floor and sportsbook. Guests who place wagers and use their player’s cards to make wagers will receive rewards in the same way they receive rewards when playing slots, table games, and bingo.”

Who that world-leading odds provider could be is anyone’s guess. But at least it is now clear Prairie Band Casino will be partnering with a third-party operator on the sportsbook.

The Prairie Band Casino and Resort opened in 1998, about 20 miles from the state capital Topeka. It was Kansas’ first full-service casino at the time.

Today, it is one of four tribal casinos in the state. It has more than 1,000 slot machines, a 400-seat bingo hall, and several dozen table games.

Retail Only

The exact details of the new compact the Prairie Band tribe have negotiated with the state are unreleased.

For now, the Prairie Band sportsbook will be sticking to retail only, and not joining the ranks of Kansas’ online sportsbooks.

The complicated nature of tribal gaming laws and agreements has meant few tribes offer mobile sports betting across the US. However, the Prairie Band Casino has kept the door open for a possible online sportsbook in the future.

That rests on a favorable outcome in an ongoing legal dispute over native tribe’s online gambling rights, which is currently passing through the Washington, D.C., District Court of Appeals.

Regardless of that future clause, The Prairie Band Casino sportsbook will not pay the same 10% state tax as the state’s casino sportsbooks.

But it will face stiff competition from online and established retail operations. That includes national market leaders DraftKings and FanDuel, as well as Barstool Sports, BetMGM, and Caesars.

Sports betting operations in Kansas have taken a total handle of more than $1 billion since legalization. That has translated to a $45 million revenue hold and $4.5 million in state taxes.