Missouri citizens approved legal mobile and retail sports betting wagering, permitting regulated books to take bets next year.
The sports betting wagering tally measure passed by a slim bulk early Wednesday morning after more than 2.9 million votes were counted.
Seven of the 8 states bordering Missouri allow mobile or retail sportsbooks. That includes Kansas and Illinois, which divided the Kansas City and St. Louis metro 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 authorize sports betting wagering this year.
" Missouri has some of the finest sports betting fans in the world and they appeared huge for their favorite groups on Election Day," Bill DeWitt III, president of the St. Louis Cardinals, stated in a statement. "On behalf of all 6 of Missouri's expert sports betting franchises, we wish to thank the Missouri voters who made their voices heard by approving Amendment 2. This historic vote makes Missouri the 39th state to legislate sports betting wagering and guarantees we no longer lose valuable tax earnings to our surrounding states. Most importantly, the passage of Amendment 2 indicates a new, dedicated, long-term funding stream for Missouri class."
Missouri sports betting wagering next steps
Voter approval means as much as 14 mobile sportsbooks could begin accepting bets next year. It is not likely all 14 readily available licenses are used.
DraftKings and FanDuel funded almost every dollar of the "yes" project and will unquestionably use to take bets in the Show Me State. They will likely each pursue the 2 "untethered" licenses readily available without needing to partner with a Missouri brick-and-mortar casino or sports betting group (and pay an accompanying fee).
Six licenses are readily available to each Missouri gambling establishment operator, respectively. Caesars, regardless of opposing the ballot measure, will likely utilize its license to launch the Caesars mobile sportsbook. Penn Entertainment, which manages ESPN Bet, and Bally's (Bally Bet) will likewise likely launch their particular books.
The other three operators are Boyd Gaming, Century Casino, and Affinity Interactive. It remains unclear if they will launch mobile sportsbooks.
The remaining 6 licenses are scheduled for each of the significant professional sports betting teams 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 amongst the most popular supporters of the tally measure.
In addition to DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesars, Missouri wagerers ought to expect other prominent nationwide brand names including BetMGM, bet365, BetRivers and Fanatics to seek market gain access to.
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, Acid Rock, Circa
Opposed Referendum But Still Might: Caesars
Missouri's tally step permits every Missouri gambling establishment to open retail sportsbooks on their particular properties. Most if not all 13 casinos managed by the 6 gambling establishment operators are anticipated to open in-person sports betting options such as sports betting kiosks and possibly committed, full-service sportsbooks.
The 6 sports betting groups can also open in-person sportsbooks within or surrounding to their particular home playing venues. Missouri will sign up with Illinois, Maryland, Arizona, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C. amongst jurisdictions that permit in-stadium retail sportsbooks.
The language around the ballot procedure needs the first certified sportsbooks to start accepting wagers by Dec. 1, 2025. Operators will likely deal with regulators to go live before kick-off of the fall 2025 football season, perennially books' most rewarding time of the sports betting calendar.
Missouri sports betting wagering background
The successful Missouri sports betting project comes despite millions in funding opposing the step from among the state's biggest gambling stakeholders.
Caesars invested countless dollars to beat the step. In most other states that tie online sports betting with a state's brick-and-mortar casinos, an operator is approved at least one license per managed residential or commercial property.
Because circumstance in Missouri, Caesars would be paid for a minimum of 3 prospective licenses, one for each casino it manages. Instead, Caesars just has one. In states with the license-per-property model, business can either open extra internal books or, more frequently, subcontract 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 manage market share, might potentially have a leg up on their competitors by earning the set of untethered licenses. It stays to be seen which two books will make these slots, however the language around the tally step would seem to favor the 2 nationwide market leaders.
Polling earlier in the year revealed the "yes" vote with a small lead. Support efforts were reinforced by 10s of millions spent by DraftKings and FanDuel.
A series of tv and radio advertisements concentrated on the revenue legal sportsbooks would generate for Missouri public education. Opponents, moneyed largely by Caesars, argued the supporters' advertisements were deceptive and the 10s of countless predicted dollars raised would have a minimal impact in a state that already spends billions on education annually.
