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

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

Seven of the 8 states bordering 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 approve sports betting this year.

" Missouri has a few of the best sports betting fans on the planet and they revealed up huge for their preferred 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 voters 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 earnings to our surrounding states. Most notably, the passage of Amendment 2 indicates a new, dedicated, long-term financing stream for Missouri classrooms."

Missouri sports betting wagering next steps

Voter approval implies as much as 14 mobile sportsbooks might start accepting bets next year. It is not likely all 14 offered licenses are utilized.

DraftKings and FanDuel funded nearly every dollar of the "yes" campaign and will undoubtedly apply to take bets in the Show Me State. They will likely each pursue the 2 "untethered" licenses offered without having to partner with a Missouri brick-and-mortar casino or sports betting group (and pay an accompanying charge).

Six licenses are readily available to each Missouri casino operator, respectively. Caesars, despite opposing the ballot procedure, will likely utilize its license to introduce 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 stays uncertain if they will release mobile sportsbooks.

The staying six 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 sports betting organizations were amongst the most popular proponents of the tally procedure.

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

Launch likelihood tiers IF Missouri citizens approve sports betting:

Guarantees: FanDuel, DraftKings
Locks: BetMGM, Bally Bet
Highly 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 allows every Missouri casino to open retail sportsbooks on their respective residential or commercial properties. Most if not all 13 gambling establishments managed by the 6 casino operators are anticipated to open in-person wagering options such as wagering kiosks and potentially committed, full-service sportsbooks.

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

The language around the ballot procedure needs the first licensed 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 profitable time of the sports betting calendar.

Missouri sports betting wagering background

The effective Missouri sports betting wagering project comes in spite of millions in financing opposing the step from one of the state's biggest sports betting stakeholders.

Caesars spent millions of dollars to beat the procedure. In the majority of other states that tie online sports betting wagering with a state's brick-and-mortar casinos, an operator is approved a minimum of one license per managed home.

In that circumstance in Missouri, Caesars would be managed at least three potential licenses, one for each casino it manages. Instead, Caesars only has one. In states with the license-per-property design, companies can either open extra in-house books or, more typically, subcontract the license to a rival that pays an accompanying fee in exchange.

FanDuel and DraftKings, which have approximately two-thirds of U.S. nationwide sports betting handle market share, could potentially have a leg up on their rivals by earning the pair of untethered licenses. It remains to be seen which 2 books will make these slots, however the language around the tally procedure would appear to favor the 2 nationwide market leaders.

Polling previously in the year revealed the "yes" vote with a small lead. Support efforts were bolstered by 10s of millions invested by DraftKings and FanDuel.

A series of television and radio ads focused on the revenue legal sportsbooks would produce for Missouri public education. Opponents, funded largely by Caesars, argued the supporters' advertisements were deceptive and the tens of countless forecasted dollars raised would have a negligible effect in a state that currently invests billions on education yearly.