Missouri voters narrowly approved sports betting at the ballot boxes on Tuesday, but it will be several months before mobile and retail sportsbooks launch in the Show Me State.
Voters Approve Amendment 2
Industry titans DraftKings and FanDuel poured $40.1 million into the political action committee, Winning for Missouri Education, to support its campaign to legalize sports betting in the state. And it appears the campaign needed every penny of those donations, in addition to the millions invested by Missouri’s professional sports franchises, to make it happen.
When the ballots were counted, 50.1% approved (1,468,306) compared to 49.9% (1,463,940) that voted against the measure. It was a slight majority but a majority nonetheless, which paves the way for mobile and retail sports betting to be launched by December 1, 2025, according to the language in the legislation.
“Missouri has some of the best sports fans in the world, and they showed up big for their favorite teams on Election Day,” Bill DeWitt III, President of the St. Louis Cardinals, said in a news release issued Wednesday.
Missouri is now the 31st state to approve mobile sports betting and the 39th to approve brick-and-mortar in-person sportsbooks. Of Missouri’s eight neighboring states, all but Oklahoma have some form of sports betting, which was a significant reason to keep those gambling dollars in the state instead of Missouri residents crossing state lines to make a wager.
What’s Next?
Historically, most states that approve sports betting launch within six to nine months after being approved. Considering that the football season is the most lucrative time of the year for sports betting, it is likely that the launch will happen on or before September of next year.
The legislation stipulates that there can be as many as 14 mobile sports betting platforms, and all but two must be tethered to a Missouri casino or one of the six professional sports franchises. Understanding that DraftKings and FanDuel were the major backers for the campaign, it is likely both industry leaders will receive the untethered licenses.
Untethered licenses mean they will not have to share in the profits with one of the casinos or six sports franchises, including the Cardinals, Royals, Chiefs, Blues, Kansas City Current, and St. Louis City FC.
Caesars’ Opposition
A major bone of contention arose when Caesars, operators of three casinos, would only receive one skin and not three, as in most states.
It is for that reason why Caesars opposed the language in the sports betting measure and why it donated millions to the counter-campaign, “Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment.”
Once launched, Missouri bettors will be able to wager moneyline, spread, and totals on college sports programs, including in-state programs such as St. Louis University or the University of Missouri. Player props on Missouri’s student athletes will not be allowed.
As for the sportsbooks themselves, Missourians can expect the three major online sportsbooks that also operate casinos in the state, ESPN BET (Penn Entertainment), Bally Bet (Bally’s), and Caesars to be among the choices. In addition, DraftKings and FanDuel will be in the first wave of sports betting platforms and will likely be joined by BetMGM, Fanatics, BetRivers, bet365, and Underdog.
