Missouri voters authorized legal mobile and retail sports betting, permitting managed 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.
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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 metro areas with Missouri, respectively.

Missouri is the 39th state to authorize legal sportsbooks and the 31st to green light statewide mobile sports betting. It is the only state to authorize sports betting wagering this year.

" Missouri has a few of the best sports betting fans in the world and they showed up huge for their favorite groups on Election Day," Bill DeWitt III, president of the St. Louis Cardinals, stated 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 authorizing Amendment 2. This historical vote makes Missouri the 39th state to legalize sports betting wagering and ensures we no longer lose important tax earnings to our surrounding states. Most notably, the passage of Amendment 2 implies a brand-new, dedicated, long-term financing stream for Missouri class."

Missouri sports betting wagering next steps

Voter approval suggests up to 14 mobile sportsbooks might begin accepting bets next year. It is unlikely all 14 offered licenses are utilized.
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DraftKings and FanDuel funded nearly every dollar of the "yes" campaign and will undoubtedly apply to take bets in the Show Me State. They will likely each pursue the 2 "untethered" licenses available without having to partner with a Missouri brick-and-mortar gambling establishment or sports betting group (and pay an accompanying charge).

Six licenses are offered to each Missouri casino operator, respectively. Caesars, despite opposing the ballot step, will likely use its license to introduce the Caesars mobile sportsbook. Penn Entertainment, which handles ESPN Bet, and Bally's (Bally Bet) will likewise likely release their particular books.

The other three operators are Boyd Gaming, Century Casino, and Affinity Interactive. It remains uncertain if they will release mobile sportsbooks.

The remaining 6 licenses are scheduled for each of the major professional sports betting teams that play home 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 amongst the most prominent supporters of the ballot measure.

Along with DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesars, Missouri bettors must expect other leading national brands including BetMGM, bet365, BetRivers and Fanatics to look for market access.

Launch probability tiers IF Missouri citizens authorize sports betting:

Guarantees: FanDuel, DraftKings Locks: BetMGM, Bally Bet Most likely: Fanatics, bet365, ESPN BET Are Already Live In Illinois, So Yeah(?): BetRivers, Hard Rock, Circa Opposed Referendum But Still Might: Caesars

Missouri's tally procedure permits every Missouri casino to open retail sportsbooks on their respective homes. Most if not all 13 casinos managed by the 6 gambling establishment operators are anticipated to open in-person wagering choices such as wagering kiosks and possibly committed, full-service sportsbooks.

The six sports betting groups can likewise open in-person sportsbooks within or adjacent to their particular home playing locations. Missouri will sign up with Illinois, Maryland, Arizona, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C. amongst jurisdictions that enable in-stadium retail sportsbooks.

The language around the tally measure needs the first certified sportsbooks to begin 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 background

The successful Missouri sports betting wagering project comes in spite of millions in funding opposing the measure from one of the state's largest sports betting stakeholders.

Caesars invested millions of dollars to beat the procedure. In many other states that connect online sports betting with a state's brick-and-mortar casinos, an operator is granted at least one license per handled property.

Because scenario in Missouri, Caesars would be managed a minimum of 3 potential licenses, one for each gambling establishment it manages. Instead, Caesars only has one. In states with the license-per-property design, companies can either open extra internal books or, more typically, farm out the license to a competitor that pays an accompanying cost in exchange.

FanDuel and DraftKings, which have approximately two-thirds of U.S. across the country sports betting wagering deal with market share, might potentially have a leg up on their rivals by earning the pair of untethered licenses. It stays to be seen which 2 books will make these slots, however the language around the ballot measure would appear to prefer the 2 national market leaders.
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Polling earlier in the year revealed the "yes" vote with a slight lead. Support efforts were strengthened by 10s of millions spent by DraftKings and FanDuel.

A series of television and radio ads focused on the profits legal sportsbooks would create for Missouri public education. Opponents, moneyed largely by Caesars, argued the were misleading and the tens of countless projected dollars raised would have a minimal impact in a state that already spends billions on education every year.