You gotta hand it to the Kansas Legislature. Even when they do the right thing, they somehow end up doing it wrong.
This time, it’s sports betting, which Gov. Laura Kelly signed into law last week
It makes absolute sense to allow sports betting in Kansas, because:
A) It’s just a different form of gambling in a state that already allows betting on everything from lottery tickets to gas station Keno to casino games,
B) Kansans are already betting countless millions through online sportsbooks that are technically illegal but as close as your smartphone,
and
C) There’s a whole lot of money to be made from the state getting a piece of the action.
But in deciding what to do with that money, the Kansas Legislature made about the dumbest decision it’s possible to make.
The vast majority of our state’s coming windfall is earmarked for a newly created “Attracting Professional Sports to Kansas Fund,” to try to lure the Chiefs from Kansas City, Mo., to Kansas City, Kan.
Your tax dollars at work, increasing the wealth of the multi-billionaire Hunt family that owns the Chiefs.
We shouldn’t be surprised. Using gambling taxes to enrich the already wealthy is a Kansas tradition.
Ask the average Kansan where the money goes from the state lottery and casinos and most will probably say: “Uh? Education?”
Nope, that’s California and 16 other states.
In Kansas, the lion’s share of gambling revenue goes to the state’s “Economic Development Initiatives Fund,” a slush fund for payoffs to businesses.
And even that’s never enough. This year’s Legislature voted for $1 billion in tax breaks for a company without even knowing who it is or what they do.
When you really look at it, we Kansans have a pretty sweet deal on professional sports right now.
We’ve got NFL football and Major League Baseball 15 minutes across the state line.
