Missouri voters authorized legal mobile and retail sports betting wagering, allowing managed books to take bets next year.

The sports betting wagering ballot step gone 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 split the Kansas City and St. Louis city locations with Missouri, respectively.

Missouri is the 39th state to approve legal sportsbooks and the 31st to green light statewide mobile wagering. It is the only state to authorize sports betting this year.

" Missouri has some of the very best sports betting fans in the world and they appeared 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 professional sports betting franchises, we wish to thank the Missouri citizens who made their voices heard by approving Amendment 2. This historic vote makes Missouri the 39th state to legislate sports betting and guarantees we no longer lose important tax revenue to our neighboring states. Most importantly, the passage of Amendment 2 indicates a new, dedicated, permanent funding stream for Missouri class."

Missouri sports betting next actions

Voter approval implies approximately 14 mobile sportsbooks could start accepting bets next year. It is unlikely all 14 available licenses are utilized.

DraftKings and FanDuel financed nearly every dollar of the "yes" project and will undoubtedly use 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 cost).

Six licenses are readily available to each Missouri casino operator, respectively. Caesars, despite opposing the ballot step, 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 release their respective books.

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

The remaining six licenses are scheduled for each of the major professional 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 organizations were among the most prominent proponents of the tally procedure.

Together with DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesars, Missouri gamblers should anticipate other leading nationwide brand names consisting of BetMGM, bet365, BetRivers and Fanatics to look for market access.

Launch likelihood tiers IF Missouri voters authorize 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 permits every Missouri casino to open retail sportsbooks on their respective residential or commercial properties. Most if not all 13 gambling establishments managed by the six casino operators are expected to open in-person sports betting alternatives such as wagering kiosks and potentially dedicated, full-service sportsbooks.

The six sports betting teams can also open in-person sportsbooks within or adjacent to their respective 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 ballot step needs the 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, perennially books' most rewarding time of the sports betting calendar.

Missouri sports betting wagering background

The successful Missouri sports betting project comes regardless of millions in financing opposing the step from among the state's largest sports betting stakeholders.

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

Because circumstance in Missouri, Caesars would be managed a minimum of 3 possible licenses, one for each casino it manages. Instead, Caesars only has one. In states with the license-per-property model, companies can either open additional internal books or, more typically, subcontract the license to a rival that pays an accompanying charge in exchange.

FanDuel and DraftKings, which have approximately two-thirds of U.S. across the country sports betting manage market share, might potentially have an upper hand on their competitors by earning the set of untethered licenses. It remains to be seen which two books will make these slots, however the language around the ballot step would appear to prefer the two nationwide market leaders.

Polling previously in the year showed the "yes" vote with a minor lead. Support efforts were reinforced by 10s of millions spent by DraftKings and FanDuel.

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