Host of ‘The Game’ hunting show permanently banned from hunting in Kansas
For the host of “The Game,” it’s officially game over in Kansas.
After filming and posting video clips of two illegal hunts on his TV show, Matt Jennings has been barred by the state from picking up a rifle, fishing pole or bow on its soil for the rest of his life.
Jennings, 35 and a Georgia native, recently pleaded guilty in federal court to two counts of illegal taking of a white tail deer in interstate commerce, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Kansas. Jennings illegally killed two antlered deer in November 2022 and featured clips of the kills on his hunting show, “The Game.”
On Nov. 11, 2022, Jennings killed an antlered deer near Florence, Kansas, a small city about an hour northeast of Wichita. While Jennings had an antlered deer tag, he was not permitted to hunt in that part of the state. The next day, Jennings fraudulently registered the kill in Oklahoma, according to the news release.
A little more than a week later, on Nov. 19, Jennings killed another deer, this time in WaKeeney, the Trego County seat in western Kansas. While his tag was valid for hunting in that area, it was Jennings’ second killed antlered deer in the same year and a violation of state law, which permits only one antlered deer per season, according to the news release.
Clips from these hunts were featured in Jennings’ show, “The Game,” which has more than 62,000 subscribers on YouTube, according to the news release.
Jennings has been ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks and a $10,000 fine. He must also surrender the antlers from the deer.
Along with a permanent hunting ban in Kansas, Jennings is currently on a five-year probation that prohibits him from having any involvement in guiding, hunting, trapping or fishing in eight states: Nebraska, Missouri, Oklahoma, Colorado, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota.
The Wichita Eagle reached out to Jennings for comment and has not received a response.
This story was originally published July 23, 2025 at 7:43 PM with the headline "Host of ‘The Game’ hunting show permanently banned from hunting in Kansas."
