Missouri Sports Betting Approaching Significant Licensing Date

• The Missouri Gaming Commission is nearing important licensing dates for sports betting
• The regulatory body is expected to award temporary sports betting licenses on Oct. 22
• Users will be able to register and fund online sports betting accounts in late November

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The Missouri sports betting market will start to take shape next week when the state gaming commission awards its first temporary sports betting licenses.

The Missouri Gaming Commission is expected to award temporary sports betting licenses to applicants on Wednesday, Oct. 22. Eight sports betting companies submitted license applications to the commission for tethered sports betting licenses.

The Show-Me State will launch sports betting on Monday, Dec. 1, 2025, at 12:01 a.m.

Missouri Sports Betting Market Will Take Shape

The Missouri Gaming Commission awarded the first two untethered online sports betting licenses to DraftKings Missouri and Circa Sports in August. FanDuel Missouri also applied for an untethered license, but was passed over by the commission.

Despite losing out on an untethered license, FanDuel submitted an application for a tethered sports betting license, along with seven other companies.

These companies are:

• BetMGM
• bet365
• Fanatics Sportsbook
• Caesars Sportsbook
• ESPN BET
• Underdog
• Kambi

Under the state’s sports betting legislation, each professional sports franchise and land-based casino will be eligible for one retail sports betting license and one online sports betting license. Each individual team and casino will also be able to partner with up to one online sports betting operator.

The commission will be allowed to issue up to 19 retail sports betting licenses and up to 14 online sports betting licenses under the approved framework

Each applicant has partnered with either a state casino or professional sports franchise to enter the sports betting market. BetMGM Missouri announced a partnership with Century Casinos in May while bet365 Missouri announced a sports betting market access agreement with the St. Louis Cardinals this past March.

ESPN BET will enter the market through PENN Entertainment’s owned and operated Hollywood Casino and River City Casino locations in Missouri. Caesars Sportsbook Missouri used its Caesars Entertainment owned Harrah’s Kansas City and Horseshoe St. Louis casinos for its market access as well.

FanDuel applied for a license through its partnership with MLS team St. Louis CITY SC. Fanatics Sportsbook Missouri, which partnered with Boyd Gaming for market access, also applied for an online sports betting license and two retail sportsbook licenses at Boyd’s Ameristar Casino Hotel Kansas City and Ameristar Casino Resort and Spa St. Charles locations.

Underdog has partnered with the Kansas City Royals for its market access.

However, little is know about Kambi’s sports betting application, as the third-party tech company has not announced a partner or discussed its intentions for Missouri sports betting. It provides the technology to run BetRivers online sports betting platform, but the operator has not shared any plans for Missouri.

Account Creation Begins in November

After operators receive their temporary licenses, submit their internal controls and house rules to the Missouri Gaming Commission, users will be able to officially register and deposit funds into sports betting accounts beginning Monday, Nov. 17, at midnight.

Sports betting operators are not the only ones submitted license applications. According to a Missouri Gaming Commission spokesperson, the commission has received 1,113 sports betting-related applications.

Here are the application numbers:

• Business applications: 39
• Key Individuals/Level I employees: 82
• BetMGM L2 employees: 300
• GLI L2 employees: 7
• Underdog Sports L2 employees: 181
• Circa Sports L2 employees: 39
• Penn Sports Interactive L2 employees: 227
• Fanatics L2 employees: 27
• Kambi L2 employees: 4
• Caesars Sportsbook L2 employees: 16
• bet365 L2 employees: 166
• Entain Mobitech L2 employees: 10
• Stadium Technology Group L2 employees: 6
• Level I Combo Affidavits: 9