Sports betting in Missouri passed by the skin of its teeth last November, and six months later, residents still do not have the ability to place bets at casinos or online sportsbooks. However, there is an update on when that will finally change.
Missouri voters had the topic of sports betting on their ballots last November. The ballot initiative, which saw record contributions for the state, passed by the narrowest of margins – 50.05% to 49.95%, or fewer than 3,000 votes difference. That officially paved the way for legal sports betting in Missouri both in person at casinos and in "sports districts" near professional teams' stadiums, but also online via smartphone apps and websites.
Part of the ballot initiative's language included the caveat that sports betting must go live by Dec. 1, 2025. There had been some discussion about the possibility of it going live before that deadline date, especially considering the NFL season begins in September and Missouri has one of the league's best and most popular teams in the Kansas City Chiefs. But that won't be the case, according to the Missouri Gaming Commission (MGC), which, across multiple interviews with news outlets, confirmed sports betting will go live on Dec. 1, or more than a year after it was voted into law.
All sports betting operators must go through an extensive application process through the MGC, which includes background checks and reviews. That is part of the reason sports betting won't be available until much later this year. That application process officially kicked off this week.
Missouri has the capacity for 14 sportsbooks, but it's not yet clear which sportsbooks will be operating in the state. FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM are all expected to apply to operate in Missouri, as is bet365, which entered into a partnership with the St. Louis Cardinals shortly before the 2025 MLB regular season began. The state has two "untethered" licenses that it will give out to sportsbooks, which will be awarded in August, while other books must partner with casinos or sports teams and apply by Sept. 12. Any sportsbook that receives a license will be able to start accepting bets at launch on Dec. 1.
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