Missouri citizens authorized legal mobile and retail sports betting, allowing managed books to take bets next year.

The sports betting wagering ballot step passed by a slim majority early Wednesday early 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 split the Kansas City and St. Louis city locations with Missouri, respectively.

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

" Missouri has some of the best sports betting fans in the world and they revealed up big for their preferred teams on Election Day," Bill DeWitt III, president of the St. Louis Cardinals, said 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 authorizing Amendment 2. This historical vote makes Missouri the 39th state to legalize sports betting and ensures we no longer lose valuable tax profits to our neighboring states. Most notably, the passage of Amendment 2 indicates a brand-new, devoted, permanent funding stream for Missouri class."

Missouri sports betting wagering next steps

Voter approval indicates up to 14 mobile sportsbooks could start accepting bets next year. It is not likely all 14 offered licenses are utilized.

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

Six licenses are readily available to each Missouri gambling establishment 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 launch their respective books.

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

The staying six licenses are reserved for each of the major expert 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 companies were among the most popular proponents of the ballot measure.

In addition to DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesars, Missouri bettors ought to expect other leading national brands consisting of BetMGM, bet365, BetRivers and Fanatics to look for market gain access to.

Launch likelihood tiers IF Missouri citizens authorize sports betting wagering:

Guarantees: FanDuel, DraftKings
Locks: BetMGM, Bally Bet
Most 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 step enables every Missouri casino to open retail sportsbooks on their respective properties. Most if not all 13 casinos managed by the six casino operators are anticipated to open in-person sports betting options such as wagering kiosks and potentially devoted, full-service sportsbooks.

The six sports betting groups can also open in-person sportsbooks within or adjacent to their particular home playing venues. 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 requires the first licensed 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 lucrative time of the sports betting calendar.

Missouri sports betting wagering background

The effective Missouri sports betting project comes despite millions in financing opposing the step from among the state's biggest sports betting stakeholders.

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

Because circumstance in Missouri, Caesars would be afforded at least three potential licenses, one for each casino it handles. Instead, Caesars just has one. In states with the license-per-property model, companies can either open additional in-house books or, more typically, subcontract the license to a competitor that pays an accompanying charge in exchange.

FanDuel and DraftKings, which have roughly two-thirds of U.S. across the country sports betting wagering handle market share, might possibly have a leg up on their competitors by making the pair of untethered licenses. It remains to be seen which 2 books will earn these slots, however the language around the ballot measure would appear to favor the 2 nationwide market leaders.

Polling earlier in the year showed the "yes" vote with a minor lead. Support efforts were boosted by tens of millions invested by DraftKings and FanDuel.

A series of tv and radio ads concentrated on the profits legal sportsbooks would create for Missouri public education. Opponents, moneyed mostly by Caesars, argued the supporters' advertisements were misleading and the tens of millions of predicted dollars raised would have a minimal impact in a state that already spends billions on education annually.