Missouri sports wagerers will have among the longest wait times from legalization to first bet of any U.S. jurisdiction to authorize legal sports wagering because 2018.
- Missouri wagerers waited almost 13 months from approval to launch, the sixth-longest rollout among legal U.S. wagering markets.
- A rejected emergency policy demand pushed launch from June to December, costing the state significant football-season tax revenue.
- Eight major sportsbooks, including FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars, and bet365, will finally go live statewide Dec. 1.
Missouri voters authorized sports betting in November 2024. With legal wagering beginning Dec. 1, gamblers will have waited nearly 13 months from legalization to first bet.
The Show-Me State ranks sixth amongst the 23 states (and Washington DC) in wait time to start statewide mobile sports betting after approval, ahead of only Maryland (24 months), Maine (18 months), Tennessee (18 months), Louisiana (14 months), and Michigan.
Missouri's wait from the Nov. 5 tally measure vote to the Dec. 1 launch will be 391 days, a little quicker than Michigan's 400-day wait. Missouri slots simply ahead of Ohio, which waited 375 days from approval to very first online bet.
The national typical average was 9 months.
Neighboring Kansas and Iowa had the 2 quickest turnarounds of any jurisdictions at 81 days and 95 days, respectively. They were the only 2 jurisdictions with a launch timeline under four months.
These timelines from approval, either by constitutional ballot procedure or legislation, do not include Nevada or a handful of other states that had formerly legalized sports wagering before the 2018 Supreme Court ruling that overruled the federal betting restriction.
Missouri's sports wagering hold-up described
Like all other jurisdictions that legislated sportsbooks, Missouri needed to authorize taking place sports betting guidelines following legalization. This covered essential elements consisting of license eligibility, monetary disclosures, and a host of other regulatory requirements.
Missouri regulators had hoped the procedure would take eight months. External forces pressed it to almost 13.
The Missouri Gaming Commission originally targeted a June 30 launch, however that needed approval for "emergency situation" guidelines from the Secretary of State's Office. Denny Hoskins, chosen to the workplace on the exact same tally that approved sports wagering, denied the request, determining sports betting permission didn't reach the emergency situation threshold.
At 391 days, Missouri's mobile sports betting launch wait between legalization (tally procedure approval or bill finalizing) and first bet will be the sixth longest of the 32 jurisdictions to authorize statewide mobile wagering, tracking only Maryland, Maine, Tennessee, Louisiana & ...
This postponed execution by 5 months. Missouri wagerers missed out on the complete 2025 routine and MLB postseasons and will miss basically all of this year's college football routine season.
The Show-Me State will likewise miss out on out on many regular season video games for the NFL, the nation's most wagered-upon sports league.
Missouri sports wagering tasks to take in more than $400 million in deal with throughout December 2025. Assuming roughly a 10% operator hold ($40 million) and the mandated 10% tax on gross gaming profits, that would mean about $4 million, or 1% of the overall handle.
A launch before football season's September kickoff would have most likely quadrupled that tax income, an aspect regulators argued when promoting the emergency guidelines.
Missouri sportsbook options
After the long postponement, Missouri sports gamblers will have in-state access to sportsbooks that accept more than 95% of the nationwide handle.
FanDuel and DraftKings, the 2 U.S. income market-share leaders, are set to go live Dec. 1. Other major national brands consisting of Fanatics, Caesars, BetMGM, and bet365 are likewise set to go survive on the state's universal go-live date.
PENN Entertainment's theScore Bet, the business's replacement for ESPN BET, will likewise start taking bets in Missouri Dec. 1 in conjunction with its nationwide rebranding. Circa Sportsbook, an operator understood for high betting limitations and its "sharp" client base, will also launch that day.
Missouri will offer 8 live mobile books. Underdog, which had actually made a mobile sportsbook license previously this year, revealed earlier this month it no longer prepared to provide real money sports betting.