Missouri citizens authorized legal mobile and retail sports betting, permitting managed 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 eight states bordering Missouri enable mobile or retail sportsbooks. That consists of Kansas and Illinois, which divided the Kansas City and St. Louis city 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 authorize sports betting this year.

" Missouri has a few of the finest sports betting fans on the planet and they showed up big for their favorite groups on Election Day," Bill DeWitt III, president of the St. Louis Cardinals, said in a statement. "On behalf of all 6 of Missouri's professional sports betting franchises, we desire 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 guarantees we no longer lose important tax earnings to our neighboring states. Most significantly, the passage of Amendment 2 means a new, dedicated, long-term financing stream for Missouri class."

Missouri sports betting next steps

Voter approval suggests as much as 14 mobile sportsbooks might begin accepting bets next year. It is unlikely all 14 offered licenses are used.

DraftKings and FanDuel funded almost 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 readily available without having to partner with a Missouri brick-and-mortar casino or sports betting group (and pay an accompanying charge).

Six licenses are available to each Missouri gambling establishment operator, respectively. Caesars, despite opposing the tally step, will likely use its license to launch the Caesars mobile sportsbook. Penn Entertainment, which handles ESPN Bet, and Bally's (Bally Bet) will likewise likely release their respective 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 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 companies were among the most prominent supporters of the tally step.

Together with DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesars, Missouri wagerers need to anticipate other leading nationwide brands consisting of BetMGM, bet365, BetRivers and Fanatics to look for market access.

Launch possibility tiers IF Missouri voters approve sports betting wagering:

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

Missouri's ballot measure enables every Missouri casino to open retail sportsbooks on their particular properties. Most if not all 13 gambling establishments managed by the six gambling establishment operators are expected to open in-person wagering choices such as sports betting kiosks and possibly devoted, full-service sportsbooks.

The 6 sports betting groups can also open in-person sportsbooks within or adjacent to their particular home playing places. Missouri will sign up with Illinois, Maryland, Arizona, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C. among jurisdictions that enable in-stadium retail sportsbooks.

The language around the tally procedure needs the very first certified 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 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 biggest gambling stakeholders.

Caesars invested countless dollars to beat the procedure. In many other states that connect online sports betting wagering with a state's brick-and-mortar casinos, an operator is approved at least one license per managed home.

Because situation in Missouri, Caesars would be afforded a minimum of 3 possible licenses, one for each gambling establishment it manages. Instead, Caesars only has one. In states with the license-per-property model, business can either open additional in-house books or, more typically, subcontract the license to a rival that pays an accompanying fee in exchange.

FanDuel and DraftKings, which have roughly two-thirds of U.S. nationwide sports betting wagering deal with market share, could possibly have a leg up on their competitors by earning the set of untethered licenses. It remains to be seen which two books will earn these slots, but the language around the ballot measure would seem to favor the 2 nationwide market leaders.

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

A series of tv and radio ads concentrated on the revenue legal sportsbooks would produce for Missouri public education. Opponents, moneyed largely by Caesars, argued the supporters' ads were deceptive and the tens of countless forecasted dollars raised would have a negligible impact in a state that currently spends billions on education yearly.