Topeka ? State officials have hired a leading gambling consultant to conduct a market research study on whether expanded gambling would be right for Kansas and how much money it could generate for the state.

“It will give the governor an idea of what the market is,” Kansas Lottery Executive Director Ed Van Petten said. “She is getting figures, depending on what faction is giving them, from $500 million to $1 billion.”

An estimated $80,000 contract between the state and Christiansen Capital Advisors LLC is about to be finalized, pending routine background checks. The New Gloucester, Maine-based company conducts research and consulting for the gambling and entertainment industries.

Van Petten said that Christiansen Capital Advisors would complete the study by late January or early February.

That would give lawmakers time to consider the results in the middle of a legislative session that promises to feature pent-up demands for spending on schools and scores of other programs during a state revenue crunch.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has supported expanded gambling as a way to increase revenues, but hasn’t made a recommendation yet for the 2004 session. A gambling task force is expected to issue its final report soon.

Tom Wright, chairman of that task force, said the market research study was an excellent idea because it would provide independent analysis.

“Everybody else that has a proposal uses their own numbers,” Wright said.

Currently, legal gambling in Kansas is restricted to the state-operated lottery, horse and dog racing at permitted tracks, charity bingo and tribal casinos.

In recent years, numerous proposals to expand gambling to include slot machines, video lottery terminals and casinos with table games have died in the Legislature. There have also been proposals to build resort casinos in the Wichita and Kansas City markets and to allow casinos in various tourist towns such as Dodge City.

In its request for bidders on the gambling market research, the state said it wanted to determine whether Kansans supported expanded gambling, what kind of games they would like to play and where.

The state also wants to know how much revenue would be generated by expanded gambling.

The study would also look at the social impact of expanded gambling, such as increases in problem gamblers and loss of income to other businesses.

Glenn Thompson, a Wichita opponent of expanded gambling, said Christiansen was “a credible and respected” company, but he assumed the consultant would recommend expansion of gambling. A spokesman for Christensen Capital Advisors declined to comment until the study was completed.

Thompson said expanded gambling would hurt the state in social and economic costs.

“The social costs invariably turn out to be $2 for every $1 the states receives. If the study being conducted shows anything different than that, the numbers will have to be justified,” he said.

Van Petten said funding for the study would come from money paid by the lottery’s main vendor, GTECH, to the state for marketing research.