Missouri voters approved legal mobile and retail sports betting, allowing controlled books to take bets next year.

The sports betting wagering ballot step passed by a slim majority early Wednesday early morning after more than 2.9 million votes were counted.

Seven of the 8 states surrounding Missouri allow mobile or retail sportsbooks. That includes 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 approve sports betting wagering this year.

" Missouri has some of the very best sports betting fans on the planet and they appeared huge for their favorite groups on Election Day," Bill DeWitt III, president of the St. Louis Cardinals, said in a declaration. "On behalf of all six of Missouri's professional sports betting franchises, we want to thank the Missouri citizens who made their voices heard by approving Amendment 2. This historic vote makes Missouri the 39th state to legalize sports betting wagering and guarantees we no longer lose valuable tax earnings to our surrounding states. Most importantly, the passage of Amendment 2 suggests a brand-new, dedicated, permanent funding stream for Missouri class."

Missouri sports betting next steps

Voter approval means approximately 14 mobile sportsbooks might start accepting bets next year. It is unlikely all 14 offered licenses are used.

DraftKings and FanDuel funded almost every dollar of the "yes" campaign and will undoubtedly use to take bets in the Show Me State. They will likely each pursue the two "untethered" licenses available without needing to partner with a Missouri brick-and-mortar gambling establishment or sports betting group (and pay an accompanying fee).

Six licenses are readily available to each Missouri casino operator, respectively. Caesars, despite opposing the ballot procedure, will likely use its license to introduce the Caesars mobile sportsbook. Penn Entertainment, which handles ESPN Bet, and Bally's (Bally Bet) will also likely release their respective books.

The other three operators are Boyd Gaming, Century Casino, and Affinity Interactive. It stays uncertain if they will launch mobile sportsbooks.

The remaining 6 licenses are booked for each of the major expert 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 companies were among the most popular advocates of the tally step.

Along with DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesars, Missouri bettors must expect other leading national brand names consisting of BetMGM, bet365, BetRivers and Fanatics to look for market access.

Launch probability tiers IF Missouri citizens approve sports betting:

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

Missouri's ballot step allows every Missouri gambling establishment to open retail sportsbooks on their particular properties. Most if not all 13 casinos handled by the 6 casino operators are anticipated to open in-person sports betting alternatives such as wagering kiosks and potentially dedicated, full-service sportsbooks.

The six sports betting groups can likewise open in-person sportsbooks within or adjacent to their particular home playing venues. Missouri will sign up with Illinois, Maryland, Arizona, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C. amongst jurisdictions that permit in-stadium retail sportsbooks.

The language around the ballot procedure requires the very first licensed 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, perennially books' most lucrative time of the sports betting calendar.

Missouri sports betting wagering background

The successful Missouri sports betting campaign comes despite millions in funding opposing the procedure from one of the state's largest sports betting stakeholders.

Caesars invested countless dollars to defeat the measure. In most other states that tie online sports betting wagering with a state's brick-and-mortar gambling establishments, an operator is approved at least one license per managed residential or commercial property.

In that circumstance in Missouri, Caesars would be afforded at least three possible licenses, one for each casino it manages. Instead, Caesars just has one. In states with the license-per-property model, business can either open additional in-house 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 wagering manage market share, might possibly have a leg up on their competitors by making the set of untethered licenses. It remains to be seen which two books will earn these slots, however the language around the tally procedure would appear to favor the two nationwide market leaders.

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

A series of television and radio ads focused on the revenue legal sportsbooks would generate for Missouri public education. Opponents, funded largely by Caesars, argued the fans' ads were misleading and the 10s of countless forecasted dollars raised would have a minimal effect in a state that already invests billions on education every year.