Missouri citizens authorized legal mobile and retail sports betting, allowing regulated books to take bets next year.
The sports betting wagering tally 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 permit mobile or retail sportsbooks. That consists of Kansas and Illinois, which divided 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 approve sports betting this year.
" Missouri has a few of the finest sports betting fans on the planet and they showed up huge for their favorite 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 professional sports betting franchises, we desire to thank the Missouri voters who made their voices heard by authorizing Amendment 2. This historical vote makes Missouri the 39th state to legislate sports betting and guarantees we no longer lose important tax earnings to our neighboring states. Most significantly, the passage of Amendment 2 suggests a brand-new, dedicated, irreversible funding stream for Missouri classrooms."
Missouri sports betting wagering next actions
Voter approval indicates as much as 14 mobile sportsbooks could begin accepting bets next year. It is unlikely all 14 offered licenses are utilized.
DraftKings and FanDuel financed nearly every dollar of the "yes" campaign and will undoubtedly use to take bets in the Show Me State. They will likely each pursue the 2 "untethered" licenses readily 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 casino operator, respectively. Caesars, in spite of opposing the tally measure, will likely use its license to introduce the Caesars mobile sportsbook. Penn Entertainment, which manages ESPN Bet, and Bally's (Bally Bet) will likewise likely launch 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 six licenses are scheduled for each of the major expert sports betting teams 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 advocates of the tally step.
In addition to DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesars, Missouri wagerers must anticipate other leading national brands consisting of BetMGM, bet365, BetRivers and Fanatics to look for market gain access to.
Launch possibility tiers IF Missouri citizens approve sports betting:
Guarantees: FanDuel, DraftKings
Locks: BetMGM, Bally Bet
Very likely: Fanatics, bet365, ESPN BET
Are Already Reside In Illinois, So Yeah(?): BetRivers, Hard Rock, Circa
Opposed Referendum But Still Might: Caesars
Missouri's tally procedure 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 anticipated to open in-person wagering options such as sports betting kiosks and possibly committed, full-service sportsbooks.
The 6 sports betting groups can likewise open in-person sportsbooks within or surrounding to their respective home playing places. 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 ballot procedure requires the very first certified sportsbooks to begin 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 rewarding time of the sports betting calendar.
Missouri sports betting wagering background
The successful Missouri sports betting campaign comes despite millions in funding opposing the step from among the state's largest gambling stakeholders.
Caesars spent countless dollars to beat the procedure. In the majority of other states that connect online sports betting wagering with a state's brick-and-mortar casinos, an operator is granted a minimum of one license per handled property.
Because scenario in Missouri, Caesars would be paid for at least 3 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 extra in-house books or, more frequently, farm out the license to a competitor that pays an accompanying charge in exchange.
FanDuel and DraftKings, which have approximately two-thirds of U.S. nationwide sports betting wagering deal with market share, might possibly have a leg up on their rivals by making the set of untethered licenses. It remains to be seen which two 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 revealed the "yes" vote with a minor lead. Support efforts were strengthened by tens of millions invested by DraftKings and FanDuel.
A series of tv and radio advertisements concentrated on the earnings legal sportsbooks would produce for Missouri public education. Opponents, moneyed largely by Caesars, argued the supporters' ads were misleading and the 10s of countless forecasted dollars raised would have a minimal impact in a state that already spends billions on education every year.