Missouri passes sports betting legislation after narrow election vote
Legal online sports betting will be introduced by December 2025 at the latest after Amendment 2 passes in the Show-Me State
Missouri citizens voted in favour of introducing legal online sports betting in the state as part of the US election yesterday, November 5.
The vote passed by a narrow majority in the Show-Me State.
Although some Missouri counties are yet to declare their votes at the time of writing, the ‘Yes’ votes hold an insurmountable lead after more than 2.9 million ballots have been counted. According to the New York Times, the ‘Yes’ vote has secured 50.23% of the vote at the time of writing, correlating to 1,452,270 votes.
The result means Missouri will allow mobile and retail sportsbooks to launch in the state by December 2025, at the latest.
The state will allow for up to 21 sports betting licenses after the Missouri Gaming Commission (MGC) confirmed the regulator’s new reading of the draft legislation, as per igaming industry site iGB.
Previously, it was assumed the six casino operators would get one license each. However, the MGC has said the land-based firms will be awarded a license per location, taking the number to 13.
This will include Caesars Entertainment, that donated more than $14m to the lobby group opposing Amendment 2’s introduction – Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment.
PENN Entertainment, Boyd Gaming, Century Casinos, Affinity Interactive, and Bally’s all operate land-based casinos in the state.
Six licenses will be reserved for the sports teams who play their home games in Missouri: the Kansas City Chiefs (NFL), Kansas City Royals (MLB), St Louis Cardinals (MLB), St Louis Blues (NHL), St Louis City SC (MLS), and Kansas City Current (NWSL).
In the final days of campaigning, St Louis Cardinals, St Louis City SC, and Kansas City Current donated almost $1m to the pro-sports betting lobby group, Winning for Missouri Education.
The remaining two licenses will be untethered, allowing operators to enter the state without having to partner with a sports team or casino.
DraftKings and FanDuel will be strong favourites to secure those licenses, with the pair contributing more than $40m to Winning for Missouri Education’s campaign.
The result sees Missouri become the 39th US state to approve legal sports betting and the 31st to allow mobile sports betting. It is also the only state to approve sports betting in 2024.
Missouri also joins seven of its eight bordering states by legalizing sports betting, with Oklahoma being the only holdout.
Sports betting in the state will be overseen by the MGC, with operators paying a 10% tax on any revenue generated.
The tax revenues would then be funelled towards education funding across Missouri schools and also funding for the state’s Compulsive Gambling Prevention Fund.
Missouri’s government estimated legal sports betting would incur onetime costs of $660,000, ongoing annual costs of at least $5.2m and initial license fee revenue of $11.75m.
The MGC will now set about developing the regulated framework for the Show-Me State, with regulators usually taking between six and 12 months to go live with online sports betting.