History
Article 15 of the Kansas Constitution was amended in 1986 to allow the operation of a government-run lottery. The Kansas Lottery Act was passed by the Kansas Legislature in 1987, and is contained in K.S.A. 74-8701 through K.S.A. 74-8732. The Lottery Act establishes the government-owned and operated Kansas Lottery, and sets parameters for organization and operation of the Lottery. The Lottery is established by KSA 74-8703, the Kansas Lottery Commission is created by KSA 74-8709, and the powers and duties of the Executive Director are outlined in KSA 74-8704 and KSA 74-8706. Distribution of all revenue from the Kansas Lottery is also directed by the Legislature pursuant to K.S.A. 79-4801 through K.S.A. 79-4806. In addition to the Act itself, individual game and promotion rules are set forth in temporary administrative regulations passed by the Kansas Lottery Commission at their meetings (usually monthly).
In 1987, ticket sales for the Kansas Lottery began in 21 cities. The first instant game was "Up and Away", with a grand prize drawing of $100,000. The first week's sales were $7 million. The Kansas Lottery gradually introduced games. The early success of the Lottery allowed it to create elaborate marketing campaigns, including a traveling singing group, the Kansas Lottery Singers. The group took popular songs, changing lyrics for Lottery commercials. They traveled around Kansas from June to September 1988. Also in the late 1980s, the Lottery constructed a building on the Hutchinson fairgrounds. This building was used as a studio for the game show Kansas Lottery Live. Winners were drawn from a giant tub filled with non-winning lottery tickets. The game show ran on WIBW, and later by the KSN TV network. The game's original hosts were Fred Broski and Teri Messner. Messner eventually left the show, replaced by Robin Smith, who co-hosted until the show ended in 1990.
The Kansas Lottery continued to introduce instant-win games, including those with higher price points. In 1995, the Kansas Legislature approved and the governor signed the renewal of the Kansas Lottery until 2002.
By 2000 the Lottery had produced $500 million for Kansas. The Lottery re-entered the game show business in 2000 by participating in the Powerball Instant Millionaire series.
In 2007, the Kansas Legislature passed Senate Bill 66, extending the Lottery until 2022 and creating the Kansas Expanded Lottery Act authorizing the Lottery, on behalf of Kansas, to own and operate four destination casinos. Electronic gaming machines would also be allowed at three parimutuel racetracks.
SB 66, as amended, created the Kansas Expanded Lottery Act which authorizes the following:
- Create “gaming zones” (casinos): Northeast Kansas Gaming Zone (Wyandotte County); Southeast Kansas Gaming Zone (Crawford and Cherokee counties); South Central Kansas Gaming Zone (Sedgwick and Summer counties); and the Southwest Kansas Gaming Zone (Ford County);
- Pari-mutuel licensee location which means a racetrack facility owned or managed by the pari-mutuel licensee. A pari-mutuel licensee location may include any existing structure at such racetrack facility or any structure that may be constructed on real estate where such racetrack facility is located.
The Kansas Lottery Commission is responsible for ownership and operational control of all provisions of the Act and is authorized to enter into contracts with the gaming managers for gaming at the exclusive and nonexclusive gaming zones.
On December 22, 2008, ground was broken for the Boot Hill Casino & Resort in Dodge City. Boot Hill is the first complex built under the 2007 Kansas Expanded Lottery Act authorizing one casino in each of four areas to generate revenue for Kansas. A private developer, Butler National Corporation, built the casino and manages it, but the Kansas Lottery owns the rights to the gambling and the gambling equipment. The groundbreaking ceremony was held for Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway on April 30, 2010, Kansas' second government-run casino.
The Kansas Lottery offers about 90 different games; including a recent Made in Kansas series where a Kansas-based company partnered with the Lottery to create a themed instant-win second chance drawing; a "Millionaire Holiday Raffle" (a $20 ticket where players have a 1-in-150,000 chance at the top prize, and "online" games, including Powerball, Mega Millions, Super Kansas Cash, and 2by2.
Read more about this topic: Kansas Lottery
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