Missouri Sports Betting Ballot Measure Approved By Voters

Missouri citizens approved legal mobile and retail sports betting, permitting controlled 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 eight states surrounding Missouri enable mobile or retail sportsbooks. That includes Kansas and Illinois, which split the Kansas City and St. Louis metro locations 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 some of the finest sports betting fans worldwide and they showed up big for their preferred groups on Election Day,” Bill DeWitt III, president of the St. Louis Cardinals, stated in a declaration. “On behalf of all 6 of Missouri’s professional sports betting franchises, we want to thank the Missouri citizens who made their voices heard by authorizing Amendment 2. This historical vote makes Missouri the 39th state to legislate sports betting and ensures we no longer lose valuable tax revenue to our neighboring states. Most importantly, the passage of Amendment 2 means a new, devoted, long-term funding stream for Missouri class.”

Missouri sports betting wagering next steps

Voter approval implies up to 14 mobile sportsbooks could begin accepting bets next year. It is not likely all 14 available licenses are utilized.

DraftKings and FanDuel financed nearly every dollar of the “yes” project and will certainly use to take bets in the Show Me State. They will likely each pursue the two “untethered” licenses readily available without having to partner with a Missouri brick-and-mortar gambling establishment or sports betting team (and pay an accompanying fee).

Six licenses are readily available to each Missouri gambling establishment operator, respectively. Caesars, despite opposing the ballot measure, will likely utilize its license to introduce the Caesars mobile sportsbook. Penn Entertainment, which manages ESPN Bet, and Bally’s (Bally Bet) will also likely release their respective books.

The other 3 operators are Boyd Gaming, Century Casino, and Affinity Interactive. It remains uncertain if they will release mobile sportsbooks.

The staying six licenses are booked for each of the major professional sports betting groups 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 organizations were amongst the most prominent advocates of the tally step.

Together with DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesars, Missouri bettors need to anticipate other leading nationwide brand names including BetMGM, bet365, BetRivers and Fanatics to look for market gain access to.

Launch probability tiers IF Missouri voters approve sports betting:

Guarantees: FanDuel, DraftKings
Locks: BetMGM, Bally Bet
Highly 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 procedure permits every Missouri gambling establishment to open retail sportsbooks on their respective properties. Most if not all 13 casinos managed by the six casino operators are expected to open in-person wagering choices such as sports betting kiosks and potentially dedicated, full-service sportsbooks.

The six sports betting groups can likewise open in-person sportsbooks within or adjacent to their respective 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 ballot measure needs the first certified 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 profitable time of the sports betting calendar.

Missouri sports betting wagering background

The successful Missouri sports betting wagering project comes regardless of millions in financing opposing the step from one of the state’s largest sports betting stakeholders.

Caesars spent countless to beat the step. In most other states that connect online sports betting with a state’s brick-and-mortar gambling establishments, an operator is approved at least one license per handled home.

Because scenario in Missouri, Caesars would be afforded a minimum of 3 prospective licenses, one for each casino it handles. Instead, Caesars just has one. In states with the license-per-property design, companies can either open extra internal books or, more frequently, 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 deal with market share, could possibly have an upper hand on their rivals by earning the set of untethered licenses. It remains to be seen which two books will earn these slots, however the language around the ballot procedure would appear to prefer the two national market leaders.

Polling earlier in the year revealed the “yes” vote with a minor lead. Support efforts were reinforced by tens of millions invested by DraftKings and FanDuel.

A series of tv and radio advertisements focused on the profits legal sportsbooks would create for Missouri public education. Opponents, funded largely by Caesars, argued the advocates’ advertisements were deceptive and the tens of countless predicted dollars raised would have a minimal effect in a state that currently spends billions on education each year.