The Kansas Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the 2007 Kansas Expanded Lottery Act.

The June 27 decision came as a result of a “friendly” lawsuit filed against the law by the Kansas Attorney General’s office.

The Kansas Lottery Review Board is anticipated to decide on the winning bidders for the Cherokee and Sumner County casinos in mid- August, and the Ford and Wyandotte County casinos in mid-September.

The state Supreme Court, in a 22-page unanimous opinion authored by Justice Eric S. Rosen, said that “while the state is not the exclusive owner and operator of all aspects of the lottery enterprise under KELA, the state owns and operates the enterprise itself and owns and operates key elements of the lottery,” thus complying with 1986 constitutional amendments.

The court ruled that several key provisions in KELA bring the act into compliance with the 1986 amendments, which also led to legislation allowing horse and dog racing and enabling a state-owned and operated lottery.

 “The payment of gaming revenues directly to the state, the ownership by the state of software licenses, the central monitoring of electronic games, and the authority to enter into management contracts and to supervise the managers constitute substantial indicia of ownership by the state and concomitant operation,” according to the court’s ruling.

The court rejected a secondary contention by the attorney general that the 2007 legislation constituted an improper delegation of power by the Legislature to the casino managers.  “The extensive terms of KELA detailing the purpose, authority, and restrictions on the Racing and Gaming Commission belie any improper delegation of authority,” Justice Rosen wrote.

 “The statutory scheme, when read in its entirety, shows that these direct statements of ownership and operational control are not mere verbal camouflage.  KELA mandates that the Kansas lottery shall be the licensee and owner of all the software programs used at the lottery gaming facilities for all lottery games,” he said.