Joint committee approves amendment to permit sports wagering with Sac and Fox Nation

The Joint Committee on State -Tribal Relations voted to approve an amendment to the 1995 gaming compact that would allow the Sac and Fox Nation to offer sports wagering at its Class III casino and add related definitions and regulatory requirements.

The amendment was described to the committee as "in substance the exact same amendment that was approved by this committee in 2023 for the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation and also the same in substance as the amendment approved for the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska in 2024," by Justin Whitten, chief counsel for the governor's office, who briefed the committee on the changes.

The compact amendment would: authorize sports wagering as a form of Class III gaming at tribal lands; add definitions for "sporting event" and "sports wagering"; expand the definition of "gaming facility" to include servers or computer equipment used to receive sports wagers; and require the Tribal Gaming Commission to adopt additional regulations, including prohibitions on wagering on events whose majority participants are under 18 and on accepting wagers from officials in an event. The amendment also revises an applicant-licensing restriction and aligns an alcohol-sales restriction with state law.

Why it matters: the amendment lets the Sac and Fox Nation offer sports betting as an amenity at its casino and creates a framework for online wagering tied to tribal lands, subject to federal review. Christopher Halbert, tribal attorney for the Sac and Fox Nation, told the committee the change "will enable the tribe to continue to be an economic engine for a very rural area of the state of Kansas," and that the tribe "encourages the committee to recommend that the legislature adopt the compact amendment." The governor's office and tribal negotiators said the amendment mirrors recent compacts with other Kansas tribes.

Key implementation and limits - Remote wagers: the amendment includes a "trigger" provision for remote sports wagers. Whitten explained the amendment authorizes sports wagering where the bettor is on tribal lands and the server is located on tribal lands; it also contains a conditional trigger saying that if a court or other authority later finds a broader "hub-and-spoke" remote model lawful under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), that broader model would be permitted under the compact. - Regulatory minimums: Appendix E (added by the amendment) lists minimum topics the Tribal Gaming Commission must consider in regulations, including age and official-participant restrictions for sports betting. - Licensing and alcohol: the amendment narrows a prior licensing bar (removing a vague suspension-based prohibition and making denial applicable when a license has been canceled or revoked elsewhere) and updates an alcohol-sales restriction to be "consistent with state law."

Committee action and next steps Representative Tushman moved to approve the amendment; Senator Haley seconded. The motion was carried by voice vote. Committee staff said the committee will prepare a concurrent resolution for introduction in each chamber; if approved by the Legislature, the amendment will then be submitted to the U.S. Department of the Interior for review and allowed to take effect under federal procedures (including the possibility of becoming effective by operation of law if the Department of Interior takes no action within the statutory review period).

What the record shows and outstanding questions Justin Whitten told the panel the proposed amendment is the first amendment to the 1995 compact and that the Department of Interior approved a similar amendment by operation of law after prior submissions. Committee members asked technical questions about how remote wagering would be limited to tribal lands and whether geofencing or other technologies would be used; Whitten said he did not have technical implementation details and that tribal counsel might be better positioned to describe it. Christopher Halbert said he was not aware of operational problems from the similar compacts and reiterated that the tribe expects job creation and increased patronage from offering sports wagering.

The committee's approval sends the amendment toward legislative consideration and federal review; the amendment will not take effect until the U.S. Department of the Interior completes its review or allows the amendment to take effect by operation of law.