Missouri's qualified sportsbook partners are set to begin taking bets in the state Dec. 1 without any wagers coming from in-person sportsbooks at arenas.
- Missouri sports betting launches Dec. 1, however no teams filed for in-stadium sportsbooks regardless of being eligible.
- Cardinals and St. Louis CITY SC are the only Missouri teams with sportsbook partners up until now.
- Online wagering is expected to dominate the market, with 95% or more of wagers put via mobile apps.
A 2024 ballot procedure narrowly passed by citizens made Missouri amongst a handful of legal sports betting jurisdictions that permit in-stadium sportsbooks. None of the six possible professional sports venues that can lawfully house retail books within or adjacent to their particular arenas have actually announced strategies to do so.
The procedure allowed two "untethered" online sportsbook operators to enter the state without affiliating with a Missouri casino or sports group. All other operators have actually partnered with among the other parties for in-person or online licensure eligibility.
Only 2 of the 6 pro teams - MLB's St. Louis Cardinals and MLS' St. Louis CITY SC - have actually revealed third-party sportsbook partners ahead of the Dec. 1 launch. Though the other 4 could strike offers in the coming months, none are positioned to take bets on the go-live date.
Cardinals executives were among the most prominent voices backing the 2024 procedure. The group has actually looked for to make its Ballpark Village home entertainment district beside Busch Stadium a year-round location, which would lend itself to opening a sportsbook readily available to customers even throughout the Cardinals' offseason.
But the group did not submit a retail book application ahead of a due date that would allow a Dec. 1 opening. Its sportsbook partner, UK-based bet365, especially does not operate any retail books in the U.S.
St. Louis CITY announced FanDuel as its sportsbook partner shortly after the sportsbook lost on among the two untethered bids. In the release announcing the deal, the team did not suggest it would open a FanDuel-branded retail book by its Energizer Park home arena west of downtown St. Louis.
FanDuel obtaining the untethered Missouri sports wagering license likewise shows the team did not focus on a retail book in Missouri.
The NFL's Kansas City Chiefs and MLB's Kansas City Royals share a sports complex that is several miles from downtown. Both teams are taking a look at brand-new arenas, potentially in surrounding Kansas, likely diminishing interest in retail books as their future playing site remains unsettled.
The NHL's St. Louis Blues and the NWSL's Kansas City Current are the other two possible Missouri groups.
Changes to wagering practices
Sportsbooks' choices not to open retail stores at arenas comes as in-person betting makes up an increasingly little portion of their revenues.
In-person wagering made around 15 to 20% of overall deal with in the months after the Supreme Court stuck down the federal wagering ban that restricted single-game sports wagering outside Nevada. That number has decreased to around 5% as online sportsbooks become more robust and readily available.
Since 2018, significant U.S. sportsbooks have actually improved their online platforms to provide hundreds or even countless bets on individual video games. The business have actually likewise broadened - and prioritized - rewarding single-game parlays that allow gamblers to stack an increasing variety of legs, a wagering alternative that is far simpler to position on a mobile gadget than in-person.
The leading books are also investing numerous countless dollars in expanding live and in-play betting. These offerings keep gamblers engaged longer and, like parlays, have greater profit margins than conventional pre-game point spread or overalls bets.
BetMGM Sportsbook at Nationals Park to close at season's end (h/t @TalkNats) https://t.co/cnCqWvpzkM
Even for bettors at arena sportsbooks, probably some of the most engaged sports bettors, online platforms are easier than betting windows and kiosks.
Now, like in Missouri, the majority of the jurisdictions that permit in-person sportsbook have actually seen a minimum of one of the books close - or not open in the very first location.
Washington, D.C., the first jurisdiction to open an in-person sportsbook, has seen two of its 3 books reveal their closure, including the BetMGM book at Nationals Park at the end of the 2025 MLB season. Retail books in Phoenix, Cleveland, and Cincinnati have actually also shut down.
In neighboring Illinois, the DraftKings book at the Cubs' Wrigley Field is the just open retail book; none of the state's other pro teams have opened books in spite of the alternative to do so. Even with the facilities the majority of these books use including walls of tvs together with food and drink alternatives, the capability to put an in-person bet is no longer a draw to the large bulk of the betting public.
Casinos use in-person betting alternatives
There will still be 8 in-person choices for Missouri sports gamblers spread across state casinos.
Ameristar gambling establishments in the St. Louis and Kansas City regions will have Fanatics-branded books. Caesars will open its eponymous retail books at its Harrah's Kansas City and Horseshoe St. Louis homes.
PENN Entertainment will open ESPN BET books at all three of its Missouri casinos: Argosy Kansas City along with Hollywood and River City near St. Louis. Century Casino in Cape Girardeau is set to open a BetMGM book via a partnership with MGM.
8 Missouri gambling establishments have applied to open retail sportsbooks:
Ameristar St. Louis (Fanatics).
Ameristar Kansas City (Fanatics).
Argosy KC (ESPN BET).
Century Cape Girardeau (BetMGM).
Harrah's KC (Caesars).
Hollywood STL (ESPN BET).
Horseshoe STL (Caesars).
River City STL (ESPN BET)
Missouri might likewise see nine or more mobile books come Dec. 1.
DraftKings and Circa have actually already made mobile licenses and are set to go live Dec. 1. They will likely be signed up with by bet365 and FanDuel as well as Caesars, ESPN BET, BetMGM and Fanatics.
Underdog made an application for a sports wagering license but has actually not revealed its required market gain access to partner. Kambi, a third-party sports wagering tech provider, has likewise requested a sports betting license, however it hasn't revealed a sportsbook partner or plans for a consumer-facing platform.