When can you gamble again at casinos in Missouri and Kansas? It could be a while
Gamblers in Missouri and Kansas will have to wait a while longer before their next wager.
The Missouri Gaming Commission this week extended an order to keep riverboat casinos closed at least through May 31.
Bingo establishments, however, can open so long as they follow social distancing — people remaining six feet apart — while following local restrictions, or state restrictions in the absence of local guidelines.
Missouri casinos have been ordered closed since March 17, when the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the Midwest.
Like most consumer industries, the pandemic has spelled trouble for Missouri casinos. Financial reports from the Missouri Gaming Commission show that gaming revenue from casinos is down 14% for the current fiscal year compared to 2019 due to more than a month of riverboats closing.
Kansas casinos have also remained closed. Todd Allen, a spokesman with the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission, said it’s uncertain when Kansas casinos can resume business.
“All I can tell you is our agency and Kansas Lottery and the governor and her administration and KDHE (Kansas Department of Health and Environment) are working on plans on when that might happen,” Allen said. “As of right now, I don’t have a date on when that will happen.”
Non-tribal casinos are specifically listed among businesses that cannot open under the current phase of Gov. Laura Kelly administration’s reopening plan, which went into effect on May 4.
Kelly’s plan originally envisioned casinos resuming when the state moved to a second phase of reopening no sooner than May 18. But Kelly said on Thursday that the state is taking a half-step to phase two, which allows some businesses like hair salons to open up but calls for casinos to remain closed.
Casinos owned by federally recognized American Indian tribes are not covered by Kelly’s order. The Sac & Fox Casino in northeast Kansas announced it would open on June 1 and implement an “aggressive health and sanitation program.”
Casinos in the Kansas City area include Harrah’s, Argosy, Ameristar and Isle of Capri on the Missouri side and 7th Street Casino and Hollywood Casino in Wyandotte County.
This story was originally published May 14, 2020 at 3:26 PM.
