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According to multiple reports, Caesars Sportsbook has applied for mobile and retail sports betting licenses in Missouri.
Surprisingly, with just two weeks remaining to apply for a Missouri sports betting license, there’s still no official word that major players like BetMGM, bet365, or Penn Entertainment have thrown their hats in the ring.
There could by a flurry of applications before the Sept. 12 deadline from companies looking to offer sports betting when it launches in Missouri Dec. 1.
FanDuel, Penn expected to apply
So far, just two other sports betting operators – Underdog and Fanatics – have officially applied for the tethered licenses the Missouri Gaming Commission will award. The MGC will hand out up to 31 tethered licenses – 19 retail and 12 online – in addition to the two untethered licenses awarded to DraftKings and Circa Sports earlier this month.
FanDuel, which lost out on an untethered license as one of three applicants, announced a partnership with Major League Soccer franchise St. Louis City SC that will allow it to qualify for both retail and mobile tethered licenses. In order to qualify, a sports betting operator needs a partnership with either a Missouri casino or sports franchise.
Penn, which operates ESPN Bet and Bally Bet, has existing casino relationships in Missouri, and has gone as far as to announce sportsbook jobs at two St. Louis-area casinos, Hollywood Casino & Hotel St. Louis and River City Casino & Hotel, and spoke of its intentions to enter the Missouri market during an earnings call earlier this month.
BetMGM, bet365 on the way?
While bet365 is not among the official applicants yet, it has a relationship with the St. Louis Cardinals, a venerable Major League Baseball franchise started in 1882. It also joined the Sports Betting Alliance in June to further cement itself in the US sports betting landscape.
BetMGM, also expected to be a choice for Missouri bettors come December, announced a Century Casinos partnership in June, putting its potential retail base in Century Casino & Hotel Cape Girardeau. At the time of the announcement, Erwin Haitzmann and Peter Hoetzinger, co-CEOs of Century Casinos, hinted that the move precluded the addition of sports betting to its offerings for customers.
BetMGM also forged partnerships with MLB’s Kansas City Royals and the National Football League’s Kansas City Chiefs in 2022.
There are also five hopefuls that have applied for Sports Wagering Supplier’s Licenses, which would allow those entities to support sports betting operators in Missouri.
