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

The sports betting tally procedure gone 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 split 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 authorize sports betting wagering this year.

" Missouri has some of the finest sports betting fans worldwide and they revealed up huge for their favorite teams on Election Day," Bill DeWitt III, president of the St. Louis Cardinals, stated in a statement. "On behalf of all 6 of Missouri's expert sports betting franchises, we want to thank the Missouri voters who made their voices heard by approving Amendment 2. This historical vote makes Missouri the 39th state to legalize sports betting wagering and guarantees we no longer lose valuable tax revenue to our neighboring states. Most significantly, the passage of Amendment 2 indicates a brand-new, devoted, long-term financing stream for Missouri classrooms."

Missouri sports betting next actions

Voter approval means as much as 14 mobile sportsbooks might begin accepting bets next year. It is unlikely all 14 readily available licenses are utilized.

DraftKings and FanDuel funded nearly every dollar of the "yes" project and will unquestionably use 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 casino or sports betting group (and pay an accompanying fee).

Six licenses are available to each Missouri casino operator, respectively. Caesars, despite opposing the tally procedure, will likely utilize its license to launch the Caesars mobile sportsbook. Penn Entertainment, which handles 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 unclear if they will launch mobile sportsbooks.

The staying six licenses are scheduled 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 among the most prominent supporters of the tally procedure.

Along with DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesars, Missouri bettors ought to expect other prominent national brands including BetMGM, bet365, BetRivers and Fanatics to look for market access.

Launch likelihood tiers IF Missouri voters approve sports betting:

Guarantees: FanDuel, DraftKings
Locks: BetMGM, Bally Bet
Very most likely: Fanatics, bet365, ESPN BET
Are Already Live 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 residential or commercial properties. Most if not all 13 casinos managed by the six gambling establishment operators are expected to open in-person wagering alternatives such as wagering kiosks and potentially committed, full-service sportsbooks.

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

The language around the tally measure requires the very first licensed sportsbooks to begin 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 campaign comes in spite of millions in financing opposing the measure from one of the state's biggest sports betting stakeholders.

Caesars invested countless dollars to beat the step. In many 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 managed home.

Because situation in Missouri, Caesars would be afforded at least three possible licenses, one for each casino it handles. Instead, Caesars only has one. In states with the license-per-property model, business can either open extra internal books or, more typically, farm out the license to a rival that pays an accompanying cost in exchange.

FanDuel and DraftKings, which have approximately two-thirds of U.S. nationwide sports betting manage market share, might possibly have a leg up on their rivals by earning the set of untethered licenses. It remains to be seen which 2 books will earn these slots, but the language around the tally step would appear to favor the two nationwide market leaders.

Polling previously in the year showed the "yes" vote with a minor lead. Support efforts were boosted by tens of millions invested by DraftKings and FanDuel.

A series of tv and radio ads focused on the profits legal sportsbooks would produce for Missouri public education. Opponents, moneyed largely by Caesars, argued the supporters' ads were deceptive and the 10s of countless forecasted dollars raised would have a negligible effect in a state that already spends billions on education annually.