Kansas legislators and the governor have lots of plans for the money they hope will be raised by state-owned gambling operations.

In fact, they probably already have spent the new revenue several times over in their minds.

A measure passed by the Kansas Legislature this week would allow for casinos in four Kansas locations and slot machines at dog and horse tracks in three cities. Supporters of the bill, which Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has said she will sign, estimate the state eventually will reap

$200 million a year in revenue from the expanded gambling.

Although the bill doesn’t identify a specific spending target for the new revenue, lawmakers have a number of ideas, including debt reduction, infrastructure improvements and local property tax relief. The Kansas Board of Regents wasted no time in staking its claim to part of the revenue to pay for “the repair of crumbling state-owned buildings” on state university campuses.

Gambling revenue would be a relatively painless way to pay for needed maintenance to university buildings and is a far better option than some other proposals that have been put on the table. Perhaps the passage of the gambling legislation will derail House Bill 2593, which would give counties that are home to state universities the opportunity to levy an additional one-tenth-cent sales tax in their counties to help repair campus infrastructure. The state can’t force that tax on university counties and it’s difficult to imagine any university leader who would pursue such an effort, let alone the county commission that would accept such an unfunded mandate from the state, which should be maintaining its own buildings.

But we digress.

Although many state legislators and residents are salivating at the prospect, additional state revenue from gaming operations is far from guaranteed. First, the gambling bill is expected to face a court challenge from Indian tribes who say they are the only groups the Kansas Constitution allows to own and run casinos. It also remains to be seen how long it will take – if it ever happens – for the state to realize the estimated $200 million annual income from the new gaming operations – and how much of that revenue will go to deal with the law enforcement and social problems that could accompany increased gaming in the state.

After many years of pleading their case, it appears gambling advocates now will have a chance to prove that Kansans and visitors to the state will support four casinos and other gaming opportunities. The state can only hope their rosy revenue predictions will come at least close to meeting the financial obligations lawmakers have lined up.