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

The sports betting wagering 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 surrounding 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 authorize 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 very best sports betting fans on the planet and they showed up huge for their favorite groups on Election Day," Bill DeWitt III, president of the St. Louis Cardinals, stated in a declaration. "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 approving Amendment 2. This historic vote makes Missouri the 39th state to legalize sports betting and ensures we no longer lose important tax income to our surrounding states. Most notably, the passage of Amendment 2 implies a new, dedicated, permanent funding stream for Missouri classrooms."

Missouri sports betting next actions

Voter approval means approximately 14 mobile sportsbooks might start 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 apply to take bets in the Show Me State. They will likely each pursue the two "untethered" licenses available without having to partner with a Missouri brick-and-mortar gambling establishment or sports betting group (and pay an accompanying fee).

Six licenses are available to each Missouri casino operator, respectively. Caesars, regardless of opposing the ballot measure, will likely use its license to release the Caesars mobile sportsbook. Penn Entertainment, which handles 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 stays uncertain if they will release mobile sportsbooks.

The remaining 6 licenses are reserved for each of the significant 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 prominent proponents of the ballot measure.

Along with DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesars, Missouri wagerers ought to expect other prominent national brand names including BetMGM, bet365, BetRivers and Fanatics to seek market access.

Launch likelihood tiers IF Missouri citizens authorize 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 procedure enables every Missouri casino to open retail sportsbooks on their respective homes. Most if not all 13 gambling establishments managed by the 6 gambling establishment operators are anticipated to open in-person sports betting options such as wagering kiosks and possibly committed, full-service sportsbooks.

The 6 sports betting teams can likewise open in-person sportsbooks within or surrounding to their respective home playing locations. Missouri will sign up with Illinois, Maryland, Arizona, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C. amongst jurisdictions that permit in-stadium retail sportsbooks.

The language around the ballot measure needs the very first licensed 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 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 procedure from one of the state's largest sports betting stakeholders.

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

In that situation in Missouri, Caesars would be managed a minimum of three prospective licenses, one for each casino 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 frequently, subcontract the license to a rival 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 rivals by earning the set of untethered licenses. It stays to be seen which two books will make these slots, but the language around the ballot step would appear to prefer the 2 nationwide market leaders.

Polling previously in the year revealed the "yes" vote with a small lead. Support efforts were bolstered by tens of millions spent by DraftKings and FanDuel.

A series of tv and radio ads focused on the income legal sportsbooks would generate for Missouri public education. Opponents, moneyed mainly by Caesars, argued the advocates' advertisements were misleading and the tens of countless forecasted dollars raised would have a minimal impact in a state that currently invests billions on education annually.