Betting on Olympics legal, first time in Kansas

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — The opening ceremony for the Olympics is on Friday, but some competitions are already taking place, and for the first time in Kansas, betting on the Olympics is legal.

Kansans will be able to wager live locally while Olympians compete overseas. The general manager of FanDuel’s local Sportsbook says excitement is building about wagering on the games.

“We’ve had a lot of customers come in asking us about the Olympics, like, ‘Hey, what can I bet on?’ ‘Is this available?'” Brian Hargrove, FanDuel Sportbook’s general manager, said.

Sports betting was legalized in Kansas two years ago . Now, the four Sportsbooks in the state are preparing for their first Olympic year. Hargrove says this is helping their bottom line.

“It’s really bad sports-wise right now, especially from a gambling perspective, with really major league baseball’s about the only thing going on, WNBA is taking a break for the Olympics. For this two or three-week period, it’ll be a very nice outlet to have that we haven’t had in the past,” he said.

What can you actually wager on at the kiosk?

“You can pretty much bet on anything. You can bet on-track events, pretty much every track event that’s going on, soccer, golf, tennis, as mentioned, basketball, both 5 on 5 and 3 vs. 3 is in the Olympics now, so there’s a lot of different options,” said Hargrove.

A regular at the local casino’s Sportsbook, Chris Spencer, is looking forward to placing tickets on track and field.

“I don’t know how anyone couldn’t like the Olympics. It’s a blast, and you’re going to be able to bet on a million different things if you want to. Some people don’t like to bet, but some of us like to bet a little bit and have some fun. It kind of makes it a little more exciting,” said Spencer.

Adding additional thrill to watching your favorite athletes compete in Paris.

Hargrove says people want to hold watch parties for events with the time change, which could mean those happen at 2-3 a.m. There are special accommodations, so those events will be on a wagering kiosk available 24/7 for the games.

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