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

The sports betting ballot step passed by a slim bulk early Wednesday morning after more than 2.9 million votes were counted.

Seven of the 8 states surrounding Missouri permit mobile or retail sportsbooks. That includes Kansas and Illinois, which split the Kansas City and St. Louis metro areas 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 wagering this year.

” Missouri has a few of the finest sports betting fans worldwide and they appeared huge for their preferred teams on Election Day,” Bill DeWitt III, president of the St. Louis Cardinals, stated in a statement. “On behalf of all six of Missouri’s expert sports betting franchises, we want to thank the Missouri citizens who made their voices heard by approving Amendment 2. This historical vote makes Missouri the 39th state to legislate sports betting wagering and ensures we no longer lose important tax revenue to our neighboring states. Most importantly, the passage of Amendment 2 indicates a new, devoted, permanent funding stream for Missouri classrooms.”
bet9ja.com
Missouri sports betting wagering next steps

Voter approval indicates as much as 14 mobile sportsbooks might begin accepting bets next year. It is not likely all 14 available licenses are used.

DraftKings and FanDuel funded nearly every dollar of the “yes” campaign 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 casino or sports betting team (and pay an accompanying fee).
bet9ja.com
Six licenses are available to each Missouri gambling establishment operator, respectively. Caesars, despite opposing the tally procedure, will likely utilize its license to release the Caesars mobile sportsbook. Penn Entertainment, which handles ESPN Bet, and Bally’s (Bally Bet) will also likely introduce their particular books.
bit.ly
The other three operators are Boyd Gaming, Century Casino, and Affinity Interactive. It stays uncertain if they will launch mobile sportsbooks.

The remaining 6 licenses are booked for each of the significant professional 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 were amongst the most prominent advocates of the ballot step.

Along with DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesars, Missouri bettors need to expect other prominent nationwide brands including BetMGM, bet365, BetRivers and Fanatics to look for market gain access to.

Launch likelihood tiers IF Missouri citizens approve sports betting wagering:
bet9ja.com
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 procedure enables every Missouri gambling establishment to open retail sportsbooks on their particular homes. Most if not all 13 gambling establishments managed by the six gambling establishment operators are expected to open in-person wagering options such as wagering kiosks and potentially devoted, full-service sportsbooks.

The six sports betting groups can likewise open in-person sportsbooks within or nearby to their particular home playing places. Missouri will sign up with Illinois, Maryland, Arizona, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C. among jurisdictions that allow in-stadium retail sportsbooks.
bit.ly
The language around the tally step requires the very 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, perennially books’ most rewarding time of the sports betting calendar.
bit.ly
Missouri sports betting wagering background

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

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

In that situation in Missouri, Caesars would be paid for at least three potential licenses, one for each gambling establishment it handles. Instead, Caesars just has one. In states with the license-per-property model, business can either open additional in-house books or, more typically, farm out the license to a rival that pays an accompanying charge in exchange.

FanDuel and DraftKings, which have roughly two-thirds of U.S. nationwide sports betting handle market share, might possibly have a leg up on their rivals by making the set of untethered licenses. It stays to be seen which two books will earn these slots, but the language around the ballot measure would seem to favor the two nationwide market leaders.
bit.ly
Polling previously in the year revealed the “yes” vote with a slight lead. Support efforts were bolstered by tens of millions spent by DraftKings and FanDuel.

A series of tv and radio advertisements focused on the income legal sportsbooks would create for Missouri public education. Opponents, moneyed largely by Caesars, argued the fans’ ads were deceptive and the 10s of millions of forecasted dollars raised would have a negligible impact in a state that currently spends billions on education annually.