The Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation, a federally recognized tribe of Potawatomi people headquartered near Mayetta (Kansas), has announced that it has received approval from the US federal government to proceed with its plan to launch sports betting before the end of this year.

Under the plan, the tribe will offer sports betting by opening a sportsbook at its Prairie Band Casino & Resort sometime later in 2023, most probably in the final quarter of this year.

Just last month, Kansas and the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation reached an agreement over an amended Class III Tribal-State Gaming Compact, which allowed the federally-recognised tribe to offer sports betting at its aforementioned gambling-friendly property on tribal land in Mayetta, roughly 25 miles north of Topeka. The federal authorities recently published a notice in the Federal Register confirming the amended compact has been approved with an immediate effect.

It is worth-noting here that the Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation has become the first tribe in Sunflower State to get the federal authorities’ approval to legally offer a sportsbook. The tribal nation intends to launch its sportsbook sometime in late third quarter (Q3) or early fourth quarter (Q4) of this year.

Joseph “Zeke” Rupnick, Chairman of Tribal Council, revealed in an interview that the planned sportsbook at the Prairie Band Casino & Resort could be opened as soon as September this year.

Speaking on the topic, Rupnick added, “Initially, we’re going to have a sports betting room that’s going to be located in the casino, and our hope is going to be to offer up a mobile app.”

If everything goes as planned, sports betting enthusiasts in the state should be able to place bets on most of the upcoming National Football league (NFL) and college football games this year.

The Sunflower state granted legal status to sports betting at its commercial casinos in 2022, and Rupnick was quick to said that his tribe was looking forward to play on the same field as its competitors.

After getting approval, Rupnick also admitted that he initially didn’t really think that the Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation would get it done this year. He expressed gratitude to the governor’s office as well as to the leadership of the elected members of the House and Senate for clearing all the hurdles so fast.

Sports betting in Kansas started in September last year, and the list of operators include BetMGM, Barstool Sportsbook, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, PointsBet and FanDuel.