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

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

Seven of the eight states bordering 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 authorize legal sportsbooks and the 31st to green light statewide mobile wagering. It is the only state to approve sports betting this year.

" Missouri has some of the best sports betting fans in the world and they appeared big for their favorite teams on Election Day," Bill DeWitt III, president of the St. Louis Cardinals, said in a declaration. "On behalf of all 6 of Missouri's professional sports betting franchises, we wish to thank the Missouri citizens who made their voices heard by authorizing Amendment 2. This historical vote makes Missouri the 39th state to legalize sports betting wagering and guarantees we no longer lose important tax profits to our neighboring states. Most importantly, the passage of Amendment 2 suggests a new, dedicated, irreversible financing stream for Missouri class."

Missouri sports betting wagering next actions

Voter approval suggests approximately 14 mobile sportsbooks might begin accepting bets next year. It is unlikely all 14 readily available licenses are utilized.

DraftKings and FanDuel funded almost every dollar of the "yes" project and will undoubtedly 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 charge).

Six licenses are readily available to each Missouri casino operator, respectively. Caesars, regardless of opposing the ballot step, will likely utilize its license to release the Caesars mobile sportsbook. Penn Entertainment, which manages ESPN Bet, and Bally's (Bally Bet) will likewise likely introduce their particular books.

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

The staying 6 licenses are booked for each of the major expert 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 prominent advocates of the ballot step.

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

Launch possibility tiers IF Missouri citizens approve sports betting wagering:

Guarantees: FanDuel, DraftKings
Locks: BetMGM, Bally Bet
Very most likely: Fanatics, bet365, ESPN BET
Are Already Live In Illinois, So Yeah(?): BetRivers, Acid Rock, Circa
Opposed Referendum But Still Might: Caesars

Missouri's tally step enables every Missouri casino to open retail sportsbooks on their respective properties. Most if not all 13 gambling establishments handled by the 6 casino operators are expected to open in-person wagering choices such as sports betting kiosks and potentially dedicated, full-service sportsbooks.

The six sports betting teams can also open in-person sportsbooks within or surrounding to their particular home playing locations. Missouri will join Illinois, Maryland, Arizona, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C. among jurisdictions that permit in-stadium retail sportsbooks.

The language around the tally procedure needs the 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, continually books' most rewarding time of the sports betting calendar.

Missouri sports betting background

The effective Missouri sports betting wagering campaign comes in spite of millions in financing opposing the measure from among the state's largest sports betting stakeholders.

Caesars invested millions of dollars to beat 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 given a minimum of one license per handled property.

Because situation in Missouri, Caesars would be managed at least three potential licenses, one for each casino it handles. Instead, Caesars only has one. In states with the license-per-property design, companies can either open additional internal books or, more commonly, farm out the license to a competitor that pays an accompanying cost in exchange.

FanDuel and DraftKings, which have approximately two-thirds of U.S. nationwide sports betting wagering deal with market share, might potentially have a leg up on their competitors by earning the pair of untethered licenses. It stays to be seen which 2 books will earn these slots, however the language around the ballot measure would seem to prefer the 2 national market leaders.

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

A series of television and radio ads concentrated on the earnings legal sportsbooks would create for Missouri public education. Opponents, moneyed mostly by Caesars, argued the supporters' ads were misleading and the tens of countless forecasted dollars raised would have a minimal impact in a state that currently invests billions on education yearly.