Missouri voters approved legal mobile and retail sports betting, allowing regulated books to take bets next year.
The sports betting wagering ballot measure passed by a slim bulk early Wednesday morning after more than 2.9 million votes were counted.
Seven of the 8 states surrounding Missouri enable mobile or retail sportsbooks. That includes Kansas and Illinois, which split the Kansas City and St. Louis city locations with Missouri, respectively.
Missouri is the 39th state to approve legal sportsbooks and the 31st to green light statewide mobile wagering. It is the only state to approve sports betting wagering this year.
" Missouri has a few of the very best sports betting fans on the planet and they appeared huge for their favorite groups on Election Day," Bill DeWitt III, president of the St. Louis Cardinals, said in a declaration. "On behalf of all six of Missouri's professional sports betting franchises, we wish to thank the Missouri citizens who made their voices heard by approving Amendment 2. This historic vote makes Missouri the 39th state to legislate sports betting and ensures we no longer lose valuable tax earnings to our neighboring states. Most importantly, the passage of Amendment 2 means a brand-new, dedicated, permanent funding stream for Missouri class."
Missouri sports betting next actions
Voter approval means up to 14 mobile sportsbooks could begin accepting bets next year. It is unlikely all 14 available licenses are used.
DraftKings and FanDuel funded almost every dollar of the "yes" campaign and will certainly use to take bets in the Show Me State. They will likely each pursue the 2 "untethered" licenses available without needing to partner with a Missouri brick-and-mortar casino or sports betting team (and pay an accompanying fee).
Six licenses are readily available to each Missouri gambling establishment operator, respectively. Caesars, regardless of opposing the tally step, will likely use its license to release the Caesars mobile sportsbook. Penn Entertainment, which handles ESPN Bet, and Bally's (Bally Bet) will likewise likely release their respective books.
The other 3 operators are Boyd Gaming, Century Casino, and Affinity Interactive. It remains uncertain if they will launch mobile sportsbooks.
The staying six licenses are booked for each of the major professional sports betting groups that play home video games in Missouri: MLB's Kansas City Royals and Cardinals, the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs, NHL's St. Louis Blues, MLS' St. Louis City SC and the NWSL's Kansas City Current. The sports betting companies were among the most prominent proponents of the tally procedure.
In addition to DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesars, Missouri gamblers ought to expect other leading nationwide brands consisting of BetMGM, bet365, BetRivers and Fanatics to seek market access.
Launch likelihood tiers IF Missouri voters approve sports betting wagering:
Guarantees: FanDuel, DraftKings
Locks: BetMGM, Bally Bet
Very likely: Fanatics, bet365, ESPN BET
Are Already Reside In Illinois, So Yeah(?): BetRivers, Hard Rock, Circa
Opposed Referendum But Still Might: Caesars
Missouri's ballot measure enables every Missouri casino to open retail sportsbooks on their particular residential or commercial properties. Most if not all 13 casinos managed by the 6 casino operators are anticipated to open in-person sports betting alternatives such as sports betting kiosks and potentially committed, full-service sportsbooks.
The six sports betting groups can also open in-person sportsbooks within or adjacent to their particular home playing places. Missouri will join Illinois, Maryland, Arizona, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C. amongst jurisdictions that enable in-stadium retail sportsbooks.
The language around the ballot measure requires the very first licensed sportsbooks to start accepting wagers by Dec. 1, 2025. Operators will likely work with regulators to go live before kick-off of the fall 2025 football season, continually books' most rewarding time of the sports betting calendar.
Missouri sports betting wagering background
The effective Missouri sports betting project comes in spite of millions in financing opposing the measure from one of the state's largest sports betting stakeholders.
Caesars invested millions of dollars to beat the procedure. In most other states that tie online sports betting wagering with a state's brick-and-mortar gambling establishments, an operator is given at least one license per managed home.
Because situation in Missouri, Caesars would be managed at least three possible licenses, one for each gambling establishment it handles. Instead, Caesars only has one. In states with the license-per-property design, companies can either open additional internal books or, more frequently, farm out the license to a competitor that pays an accompanying fee in exchange.
FanDuel and DraftKings, which have approximately two-thirds of U.S. across the country sports betting manage market share, might possibly have a leg up on their rivals by earning the set of untethered licenses. It stays to be seen which two books will earn these slots, but the language around the tally measure would appear to favor the 2 nationwide market leaders.
Polling earlier in the year revealed the "yes" vote with a small lead. Support efforts were boosted by 10s of millions invested by DraftKings and FanDuel.
A series of tv and radio advertisements focused on the revenue legal sportsbooks would generate for Missouri public education. Opponents, funded largely by Caesars, argued the fans' advertisements were misleading and the tens of countless predicted dollars raised would have a minimal effect in a state that currently invests billions on education annually.
