Maybe as a political reprisal for the Chiefs' intention to relocate from Kansas City, Missouri, to Kansas City, Kansas, a measure presented in the Missouri legislature would prohibit the team from using the state's sports-betting benefits.

The Chiefs said in December that they planned to construct a new domed stadium in Wyandotte County, Kansas, and that they would abandon Arrowhead Stadium, their home for over half a century, after the lease expires after the 2030 season. The project would entail an investment of "at least" $4 billion in the state of Kansas, according to Clark Hunt, the chairman and owner of the Chiefs.

Privilege of Betting

Currently, Missouri's sports-betting legislation enables licensed operators to collaborate with professional sports teams in the state to provide wagering, with teams permitted to share in betting revenue.

The Chiefs have marketing agreements with sportsbooks, but they haven't yet used the team-affiliated betting privilege under Missouri law.

State Senator Nick Schroer (R-St. Charles County) has submitted a proposed constitutional amendment that would preserve the status quo.

"Current constitutional provisions define ‘professional sports team’ as a team located in this state that is a member of the [NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, MLS, WNBA, or the NWSL] for the purposes of conducting sports wagering in this state,” it reads. “This constitutional amendment, if approved by the voters, removes members of the [NFL] from such definition.”

The proposed amendment, which would require voter approval, does not mention the Chiefs or the proposed relocation. But it has a clear purpose. Because the Chiefs are the only NFL team in the state, this would remove "all" NFL teams from Missouri's sports betting structure, which exclusively affects the Chiefs.

Professional teams are permitted to cooperate with casinos to open sportsbooks in Kansas due to a statute that also enables sports betting.

“Pissed Off”

The amendment is just one of many bills introduced in response to the Chiefs' announcement; one would hold the team responsible for covering more than half of the costs of destroying Arrowhead after 2030, indicating that legislative tensions are high.

“I’m really pissed about it, and I’ve had Democrats, Republicans, reaching out that they’re really pissed about the fact that this sort of wheeling and dealing occurred behind our backs,” State Senator Rick Brattin (R – Cass County) told Fox 4 Kansas on Wednesday.

Kansas City's split between states has resulted in decades of recurrent, extremely apparent tension. Local media openly called a "border war" for years, with both states giving tax breaks to entice enterprises across the state line, which was usually only a few kilometers away.

This became such a difficulty that Missouri Governor Mike Parson (R) and Kansas Governor Laura Kelly (D) signed a truce deal in 2019 to cease using incentives to poach firms from each other.