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

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

Seven of the eight states surrounding Missouri allow mobile or retail sportsbooks. That consists of Kansas and Illinois, which split the Kansas City and St. Louis metro 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 finest sports betting fans on the planet and they revealed up huge for their favorite groups on Election Day," Bill DeWitt III, president of the St. Louis Cardinals, said in a statement. "On behalf of all six 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 ensures we no longer lose important tax earnings to our surrounding states. Most importantly, the passage of Amendment 2 implies a new, devoted, long-term financing stream for Missouri class."

Missouri sports betting wagering next actions

Voter approval means as much as 14 mobile sportsbooks might begin accepting bets next year. It is not likely all 14 readily available licenses are utilized.

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

Six licenses are available to each Missouri gambling establishment operator, respectively. Caesars, despite 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 also likely launch their particular books.

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

The staying six licenses are scheduled for each of the major expert sports betting groups 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 proponents of the tally procedure.

Together with DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesars, Missouri bettors should expect other leading national brands including BetMGM, bet365, BetRivers and Fanatics to seek market access.

Launch probability tiers IF Missouri voters approve sports betting:

Guarantees: FanDuel, DraftKings
Locks: BetMGM, Bally Bet
Highly 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 step allows every Missouri casino to open retail sportsbooks on their respective properties. Most if not all 13 casinos managed by the six casino operators are expected to open in-person sports betting choices such as wagering kiosks and possibly dedicated, full-service sportsbooks.

The six sports betting teams can likewise open in-person sportsbooks within or nearby to their particular home playing places. 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 tally procedure needs the first licensed 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, continually books' most rewarding time of the sports betting calendar.

Missouri sports betting background

The effective Missouri sports betting wagering campaign comes regardless of millions in funding opposing the procedure from among the state's largest sports betting stakeholders.

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

Because situation in Missouri, Caesars would be paid for at least 3 prospective licenses, one for each gambling establishment 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 cost in exchange.

FanDuel and DraftKings, which have roughly two-thirds of U.S. across the country sports betting wagering manage market share, could potentially have a leg up on their competitors by earning the set of untethered licenses. It stays to be seen which two books will earn these slots, however the language around the tally procedure would appear to favor the two nationwide market leaders.

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

A series of tv and radio advertisements concentrated on the profits legal sportsbooks would create for Missouri public education. Opponents, funded mainly by Caesars, argued the advocates' ads were deceptive and the 10s of countless projected dollars raised would have a minimal effect in a state that currently invests billions on education each year.