Casinos in Kansas
Kansas can’t really compare with Nevada when it comes to land-based gambling, but the state has a well-developed and regulated real money gaming industry. The state allows local Native American tribes to run casinos, which are free to offer online slots, video poker and classic table games, such as online roulette, baccarat, and blackjack. Kansas also offers some exciting horse race and greyhound race betting action, as well as a state-run lottery. Nevertheless, like most similar USA online casinos, Kansas doesn’t have a regulated, intrastate real money online gambling market yet, which means that Kansas residents are forced to play on offshore casino sites if they want to pursue their hobby online.
Kansas Gambling Laws
All forms of gambling are covered by Kansas Statutes 21-4302 through 21-4308, but the basics are outlined by the Article 15 of the Kansas Constitution. As is often the case, the authorities focus on tracking down illegal gambling operators instead of individual players. The state permits charity gambling, but the regulations pertaining to social gaming and playing online from the privacy of your home are pretty vague and unclear. It’s worth pointing out that Kansas authorities are free to argue that the current law makes it illegal for Kansas residents to play on offshore casino sites. In fact, the attorney general of Kansas expressed this kind of opinion in 1996, but this issue hasn’t been addressed in the recent past.
Attorney General Opinion No. 96-31
“Placing, receiving or forwarding a bet and participating in or conducting a lottery on the Internet violates Kansas criminal gambling statutes. If a bet is placed or a lottery is engaged in from a computer located in Kansas any person or entity participating in such crime may be prosecuted in this state.”
Despite this opinion, no Kansas residents have been prosecuted for playing on online casino sites so far, so it should come as no surprise that many people aren’t even aware that the current regulations leave plenty of room for interpretation and simply join the action without any fear of being punished for pursuing their hobby.
Online Casinos
Kansas doesn’t have any regulated, intrastate casino sites due to the fact that the current regulations prevent Kansas gambling businesses from offering their games online. However, US-players can access numerous offshore casino sites, most of which have no qualms about accepting Kansas-based players.
Those sites get plenty of traffic from all over the world, so naturally the bonuses they offer are much larger than the ones available with the local sites in Delaware, Nevada, or New Jersey. Furthermore, those sites are 100% reliable when it comes to banking, as they simply can’t afford to risk being pushed out of the market by their competition due to a scandal involving delayed withdrawals or promotion-related scams.
Offshore Casino Sites That Accept Kansas Players
Most of the offshore casino sites that accept Kansas residents have very similar software, which means that once you visit one or two casinos you should feel pretty comfortable with any gambling service of this kind. Unfortunately, this also means that only a few slots or table games are site-exclusive; most of the popular titles are available on all the high-profile casino sites. Choosing your US-facing casino is more about picking the best set of bonuses and promotions than going for game selection and diversity.
One of the biggest downsides of playing at an offshore casino site is the limited availability of certain banking methods, such as Neteller or PayPal. Consequently, Kansas-based online casino aficionados usually fund their accounts via a credit card payment. Other, less popular methods include depositing via a Western Union or MoneyGram money order and using a PaySafeCard, but regardless of the option you pick, you should be prepared for more hassle than in the case of a local, intrastate site. On a brighter note, cashing out is usually very simple and boils down to choosing between a wire transfer and a check by courier.
Developing Legal Scenarios
Kansas lawmakers aren’t interested in legalizing intrastate casino gambling, so it should come as no surprise that no i-gaming bills have been introduced in the recent past. Furthermore, it is quite likely that Kansas-only sites wouldn’t be able to attract enough traffic to make them worth the initial investment, which means that the current regulations are very unlikely to be altered unless the situation changes on the federal level in the months to come.
