Missouri voters authorized legal mobile and retail sports betting wagering, allowing controlled books to take bets next year.

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

Seven of the 8 states surrounding Missouri enable mobile or retail sportsbooks. That includes Kansas and Illinois, which divided the Kansas City and St. Louis city locations 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 authorize sports betting wagering this year.

" Missouri has some of the very best sports betting fans on the planet and they appeared big for their preferred groups on Election Day," Bill DeWitt III, president of the St. Louis Cardinals, said in a declaration. "On behalf of all six of Missouri's professional sports betting franchises, we want 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 wagering and ensures we no longer lose valuable tax revenue to our neighboring states. Most significantly, the passage of Amendment 2 suggests a new, dedicated, long-term funding stream for Missouri classrooms."

Missouri sports betting wagering next actions

Voter approval indicates approximately 14 mobile sportsbooks might start accepting bets next year. It is unlikely all 14 readily available licenses are used.

DraftKings and FanDuel funded almost every dollar of the "yes" project and will certainly 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 fee).

Six licenses are available to each Missouri casino operator, respectively. Caesars, in spite of opposing the ballot procedure, 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 three operators are Boyd Gaming, Century Casino, and Affinity Interactive. It remains uncertain if they will release mobile sportsbooks.

The remaining 6 licenses are reserved 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 organizations were amongst the most prominent proponents of the tally procedure.

Along with DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesars, Missouri gamblers should anticipate other prominent national brands consisting of BetMGM, bet365, BetRivers and Fanatics to look for market access.

Launch likelihood tiers IF Missouri citizens approve sports betting wagering:

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

Missouri's tally procedure permits every Missouri casino to open retail sportsbooks on their particular residential or commercial properties. Most if not all 13 gambling establishments handled by the 6 casino operators are anticipated to open in-person wagering choices such as wagering kiosks and potentially dedicated, full-service sportsbooks.

The 6 sports betting groups can also open in-person sportsbooks within or nearby to their particular home playing venues. Missouri will join Illinois, Maryland, Arizona, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C. amongst jurisdictions that enable in-stadium retail sportsbooks.

The language around the ballot measure needs the very first certified sportsbooks to start accepting wagers by Dec. 1, 2025. Operators will likely deal with regulators to go live before kick-off of the fall 2025 football season, perennially books' most financially rewarding time of the sports betting calendar.

Missouri sports betting background

The successful Missouri sports betting project comes in spite of millions in funding opposing the measure from among the state's largest sports betting stakeholders.

Caesars spent countless dollars to beat the step. In a lot of other states that tie online sports betting wagering with a state's brick-and-mortar gambling establishments, an operator is given a minimum of one license per handled residential or commercial property.

Because scenario in Missouri, Caesars would be paid for at least 3 potential licenses, one for each casino it manages. Instead, Caesars just has one. In states with the license-per-property design, business can either open extra internal books or, more typically, subcontract the license to a rival that pays an accompanying cost in exchange.

FanDuel and DraftKings, which have approximately two-thirds of U.S. across the country sports betting manage 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 make these slots, but the language around the tally procedure would seem to prefer the two national market leaders.

Polling earlier in the year revealed the "yes" vote with a slight lead. Support efforts were strengthened by tens of millions spent by DraftKings and FanDuel.

A series of television and radio advertisements concentrated on the income legal sportsbooks would generate for Missouri public education. Opponents, funded largely by Caesars, argued the supporters' advertisements were misleading and the tens of countless predicted dollars raised would have a minimal impact in a state that already spends billions on education each year.