On Wednesday, the journey to legal sports betting in Missouri accelerated as the state’s regulator issued temporary licences to keep pace with a planned December launch.
The Missouri Gaming Commission issued seven new licences for sports betting on Wednesday evening. Sports betting will go live on 1 December. The MGC had already issued two untethered licences earlier this year to DraftKings and Circa.
With the temporary licences in hand, sportsbooks will begin accepting user signups and deposits on 17 November.
Sportsbooks that received licences on Wednesday:
- Bet365
- BetMGM
- Caesars
- ESPN Bet
- FanDuel
- Fanatics
- Underdog
The MGC also issued multiple licences to suppliers, including Genius Sports Media, GeoComply, Gaming Laboratories International and Kambi.
Missouri sports betting takes shape
After multiple years of failed legislative attempts to legalise sports betting, the state’s professional sports teams took matters into their own hands and launched a ballot initiative. The issue passed with just over 50% of the vote in November 2024.
The MGC then got to work setting up the industry framework and regulations. Regulators hoped to have sportsbooks up and running earlier this year, but Secretary of State Denny Hoskins’ rejection of emergency rules pushed the launch back to December.
An application period opened in May. Aside from the two untethered sports betting licences, operators are required to partner with either a casino or professional sports team for market access.
Three operators applied for the two untethered sports betting licences: Circa, DraftKings and FanDuel. Ultimately, the MGC chose Circa and DraftKings, leaving FanDuel to partner with St Louis City FC for market access.
Bet365 entered a market access deal with the St Louis Cardinals for entry into the state. The Cardinals were a key driver in the ballot initiative.
Century Casinos, which owns two casinos in the state, partnered with BetMGM. Fanatics paired up with Boyd Gaming, which also owns two casinos in Missouri.
Underdog partnered with the Kansas City Royals for market access and added a marketing deal with the St Louis Blues this month.
Caesars and Penn Entertainment each have two casinos in the state and opted to apply for Caesar Sportsbook and ESPN Bet through those avenues. Eight casino partners were also issued licences, indicating in-person sportsbooks with their partners:
- Ameristar Casino Kansas City (Fanatics)
- Ameristar Casino St Charles (Fanatics)
- Century Casino Cape Girardeau (BetMGM)
- Harrah’s Kansas City (Caesars)
- Horseshoe St Louis (Caesars)
- Argosy Riverside Casino (ESPN Bet)
- Hollywood Casino St Louis (ESPN Bet)
- River City Casino (ESPN Bet)
The Missouri Gaming Commission has now issued nine temporary licences paving the way for sportsbooks to launch on 1 December.