Place Your Bets—Sports Gambling is Now Legal in Missouri

Get those parlays ready because sports betting is coming to Missouri. The Show-Me State will become the 39th state to approve legal sports wagering and the 31st to approve legal online sports gambling. 

The fight to pass this law and have Missouri join the growing list of states with legal sports betting has been a long one. Tuesday’s election marked the pinnacle of the movement, as Amendment 2 on the state’s ballots was passed. Missouri will have until Dec. 1, 2025, to launch the initiative. It’s expected to be up and running much sooner, though. 

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Amendment 2 wasn’t a landslide vote. It was actually much closer than some expected, as it passed by just 7,486 votes. Narrow victory aside, the decision to welcome sports gambling creates a new revenue stream for the state and new opportunities. Those reasons alone are largely why the majority of the country has greenlit the activity. According to KCTV, officials estimate up to $28.9 million annually from the move. 

Amendment 2 means Missouri will have up to 19 retail betting licenses and 21 licenses for online gambling sites, such as DraftKings and FanDuel. The professional sports teams and each casino will also be allowed to have one retail and one online licensing. 

The move makes a lot of sense, considering all the states bordering Missouri (besides Oklahoma) have legalized betting. There’s likely been plenty of lost revenue due to locals going over state lines to place bets. 

“Missourians have been exposed to sports betting now for a number of years in the neighboring states. People right now, they’re betting on the Chiefs, but chances are they’re just going across the border to KCK to do it. So, it’s ingrained,” said Joe Weinert, Executive Vice President of Spectrum Gaming Group, per Kansas City’s NBC affiliate, KSHB. 

With Missouri joining the list, there are now just 11 states that have not ushered in sports gambling.