Missouri citizens authorized legal mobile and retail sports sports betting, allowing managed books to take bets next year.
The sports betting ballot step gone by a slim bulk early Wednesday morning after more than 2.9 million votes were counted.
Seven of the 8 states surrounding Missouri allow mobile or retail sportsbooks. That consists of Kansas and Illinois, which divided the Kansas City and St. Louis city areas 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 some of the best sports betting fans in the world and they appeared big 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 authorizing Amendment 2. This historic vote makes Missouri the 39th state to legalize sports betting wagering and ensures we no longer lose valuable tax profits to our surrounding states. Most importantly, the passage of Amendment 2 means a new, dedicated, long-term financing stream for Missouri class."
Missouri sports betting wagering next steps
Voter approval implies up to 14 mobile sportsbooks might start accepting bets next year. It is not likely all 14 available licenses are used.
DraftKings and FanDuel financed 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 two "untethered" licenses available without needing to partner with a Missouri brick-and-mortar casino or sports betting group (and pay an accompanying fee).
Six licenses are available to each Missouri gambling establishment operator, respectively. Caesars, regardless of opposing the tally procedure, will likely utilize its license to introduce the Caesars mobile sportsbook. Penn Entertainment, which handles ESPN Bet, and Bally's (Bally Bet) will also likely launch their particular books.
The other 3 operators are Boyd Gaming, Century Casino, and Affinity Interactive. It remains unclear if they will release mobile sportsbooks.
The staying six licenses are scheduled for each of the major expert 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 organizations were amongst the most prominent proponents of the ballot measure.
In addition to DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesars, Missouri wagerers need to anticipate other leading nationwide brands including BetMGM, bet365, BetRivers and Fanatics to look for market access.
Launch likelihood tiers IF Missouri citizens approve sports betting:
Guarantees: FanDuel, DraftKings
Locks: BetMGM, Bally Bet
Very 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 six gambling establishment operators are expected to open in-person sports betting options such as wagering kiosks and potentially committed, full-service sportsbooks.
The six sports betting teams can also open in-person sportsbooks within or surrounding to their particular home playing places. Missouri will sign up with Illinois, Maryland, Arizona, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C. among jurisdictions that permit in-stadium retail sportsbooks.
The language around the tally measure needs the very 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, continually books' most financially rewarding time of the sports betting calendar.
Missouri sports betting wagering background
The effective Missouri sports betting campaign comes despite millions in financing opposing the measure from one of the state's largest sports betting stakeholders.
Caesars spent millions of dollars to beat the measure. In the majority of other states that connect online sports betting with a state's brick-and-mortar gambling establishments, an operator is granted a minimum of one license per handled residential or commercial property.
Because scenario in Missouri, Caesars would be paid for at least 3 prospective licenses, one for each casino it manages. Instead, Caesars only has one. In states with the license-per-property design, companies can either open additional in-house books or, more commonly, subcontract the license to a rival that pays an accompanying charge in exchange.
FanDuel and DraftKings, which have roughly two-thirds of U.S. across the country sports betting manage market share, could possibly have a leg up on their competitors by earning the set of untethered licenses. It stays to be seen which 2 books will make these slots, however the language around the ballot step would appear to favor the two national market leaders.
Polling previously in the year revealed the "yes" vote with a slight lead. Support efforts were bolstered by 10s of millions spent by DraftKings and FanDuel.
A series of tv and radio ads concentrated on the profits legal sportsbooks would generate for Missouri public education. Opponents, funded mostly by Caesars, argued the supporters' advertisements were misleading and the 10s of countless projected dollars raised would have a negligible impact in a state that currently spends billions on education each year.
