<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/6/1654085095636.png" alt="State Rep. John Eplee&nbsp; represents Doniphan and Atchison County, Kansas " />
 <figcaption>State Rep. John Eplee&nbsp; represents Doniphan and Atchison County, Kansas </figcaption>
 </figure>By TOMMY REZAC <a href="https://stjosephpost.com">St. Joseph Post</a>ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — While the Missouri Legislature was unable to legalize sports betting during this past session, Kansas has signed a sports betting bill into law.SB 84 
received bipartisan support in Kansas' house and senate, and the bill 
was signed into law by governor Laura Kelly earlier in May.State 
representative John Eplee, who represents Doniphan and Atchison County, 
Kansas says this bill cracks down on any illegal betting going on in the
 state."It does allow people to do this in a legal fashion 
through our casinos and Kansas Lottery," Eplee told St. Joseph Post. "It
 will be starting up here soon, because it was signed by the governor."The
 Kansas Lottery has until January 1st of 2023 to create a regulatory 
environment for sports betting, and wagering is expected to start in 
spring of next year as well.Around 80 percent of all funds from 
sports betting in Kansas would be funneled into the "Attracting 
Professional Sports to Kansas Fund" as an attempt to lure any sports 
team into the state.Eplee says this includes but is not limited to the Kansas City Chiefs."It
 could be for any other team or a new team," he said. "Let's say there 
was expansion of the NFL and there was a new team. Kansas would have an 
opportunity to get that. Obviously, people think it's a fund to lure the
 Chiefs across the state line. I'm not sure that's a really good 
characterization."Kansas is now the 35th state to legalize sports betting in the United States.Residents of the state will be allowed to place bets on college and professional teams beginning in the spring of 2023.Eplee says this legislation will especially beneficial to the state's casinos."We
 included casinos in this so they have an opportunity to be a part of 
it," he said. "This took a lot of compromise on both sides to get this 
to the finish line. It's been a long time coming."

State rep: Kan. sports betting bill not only about luring Chiefs