Sports fans who want to bet on their favorite teams should be able to make their wagers in Kansas beginning Sept. 1 if some final regulatory details are worked out, state officials announced Thursday.
Rep. Troy Waymaster, Kansas 109th District
Wednesday morning, the House Appropriations Committee held a briefing from the Department of Labor regarding current unemployment and fraud issues. After this committee meeting and the discussion, Governor Kelly admitted that the umemployment program has been overrun by fraud and that is currently distracting the department to process legitimate unemployment claims. Currently, Kansas is experiencing the second most fraudulent unemployment claims in the nation, only behind the state of Illinois.
When the COVID-19 pandemic started last year, the unemployment trust fund for the state of Kansas had a balance in excess of $1 billion. Now that same trust fund has an approximate balance between $300 million, with some stating that anywhere from $300 to $400 million may have been paid out in fraudulent claims.