Kansas Daily Fantasy Sports Sites

The legislature has not passed additional laws to regulate Kansas fantasy sports sites or require licenses, so it is critical that players select reputable providers, ideally operators that have received licenses in other states with effective regulatory controls.

BettingUSA recommends the following Kansas fantasy sports sites because they are well-established and hold licenses in other states.

Some of these fantasy sites also offer online sports betting in Kansas under licenses issued by the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission.

Pick’em Fantasy Sports in Kansas

Several high-profile pick’em fantasy sports sites operate in Kansas, but it is unclear if they comply with state law.

Although Kansas is officially a legal DFS state, it has never approved additional regulations to clarify which types of contests operators may offer. As a result, there’s still some ambiguity regarding the legality of prediction-style fantasy sports contests in Kansas.

In late 2023, the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission sent cease-and-desist letters to six pick’em fantasy sports operators. The letter alleged that although they call themselves “fantasy sites,” their pick’em-style contests are essentially proposition bets and constitute unauthorized sports betting.

Underdog Fantasy confirmed it was one of the six operators to receive a letter and subsequently exited the market. It is unclear which other Kansas fantasy sports sites were ordered to halt their Kansas operations. Several pick’em fantasy sports sites remain available in Kansas, but only time will tell if they remain available over the long term.

Kansas Fantasy Sports Law

Kansas law considers daily fantasy sports contests legal if they meet the UIGEA-compliant definition of “fantasy sports:”

• Any fantasy or simulation sports game or contest in which no fantasy or simulation sports team is based on the current membership of an amateur or professional sports organization;
• All prizes and awards offered to winning participants are established and made known in advance of the game and their value is not determined by the number of participants or amount of fees paid by participants;
• All winning outcomes reflect the relative knowledge and skill of the participants and are determined predominantly by accumulated statistical results of the performance of individual athletes in multiple real-world sporting events;
• No winning outcome is based on the score, point spread, or performance of any single team or individual player

How Kansas Legalized Daily Fantasy Sports

Kansas was one of the earliest states to clarify its position on the legality of fantasy sports. Virginia often receives credit for being the first state to legalize DFS contests and establish a licensing process, but Kansas passed a simpler bill in 2015 to exempt fantasy contests from local laws on illegal gambling.

Previously, Kansas fantasy sports sites operated in a legal grey area. Existing law didn’t mention daily fantasy sports, and it was unclear if existing laws on illegal gambling applied to DFS contests.

The Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission (KRGC) added to the uncertainty when it updated an FAQ page on its website to indicate that daily fantasy sports constituted illegal gambling.

The KRGC’s opinion on fantasy sports held no legal weight. Still, the unexpected update on its website caused widespread speculation that Kansas authorities were planning to crack down on fantasy sports. The KRGC later explained that nothing had changed in its policy because it had always considered fantasy sports illegal in Kansas.

The Wichita Eagle covered the story and explained that fantasy sports constituted illegal gambling in Kansas but that attorneys had no interest in pursuing players. Eventually, Kansas lawmakers decided to put the question to rest by introducing HB 2155 to formally legalize daily fantasy sports apps and websites.

While the legislature was considering HB 2155, Rep. Mark Kahrs requested the Kansas Attorney General’s opinion on whether fantasy sports games qualify as gambling or contests of skill. The Kansas Constitution prohibits gambling other than exceptions approved by voters in a public referendum, so lawmakers wanted to determine if they had the legal authority to legalize fantasy sports.

The Attorney General responded with an opinion stating that fantasy sports leagues are contests of skill and may therefore be regulated by the legislature without a constitutional amendment.

Kansas lawmakers approved HB 2155 shortly afterward, and it received the Governor’s signature in May 2015. The Kansas fantasy sports law did not create a regulatory framework or initiate a licensing regime. Instead, it amended KS Stat § 21-6403 to exempt daily fantasy from the definition of what constitutes an illegal bet.

As a result, Kansas daily fantasy sites operate on firm legal footing and may openly offer real-money DFS games to residents.

Note: An outdated page on the KRGC website describes real-money fantasy sports contests as illegal, but players can rest assured that DFS sites are legal. An up-to-date FAQ page on the KRGC website confirms that Kansas legalized fantasy sports in 2015.

Kansas Daily Fantasy Sports FAQ