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With roughly a month and a half to apply for a tethered Missouri sports betting license, only one operator has done so.
Four companies have sought licenses to provide support to sportsbooks, while three operators have applied for the two available untethered licenses.
That brings the total applicants seeking a Missouri sports betting license to eight at the end of July.
Underdog still only applicant for tethered license
Four of the eight applicants were known prior to the Missouri Gaming Commission’s (MGC) update this week. That includes Underdog, which currently operates a sportsbook in North Carolina (with licenses in Ohio and Colorado), and which is the only operator to apply for a tethered license in Missouri so far.
Tethered licenses are available to operators that partner with a casino or professional sports team in the state.
A pair of sports betting behemoths, DraftKings and FanDuel, plus Circa Sports, applied for one of the two untethered licenses before the July 15 deadline. They could also seek a tethered license.
On Tuesday, an MGC spokesperson said that the following companies have applied for a Sports Wagering Supplier’s License, allowing them to provide services and support to sports betting operators in the state:
- Catalist Sports: A data provider based in New York that, according to its website, “has established partnerships with content suppliers seeking to enter the regulated US betting market.”
- GeoComply: A Vancouver, B.C.-based geolocation company claiming to be a market leader in the gaming industry.
- Gaming Laboratories International: An independent testing lab headquartered in Lakewood, NJ, that provides “the gaming industry’s leading testing and certification services.”
- OpticOdds: A New York City-based sportsbook data provider that works with a number of sports betting entities, listing Underdog among its clients on its website.
Floodgates could open in August
There are several sportsbooks expected to apply for a tethered license. They include BetMGM and bet365, which have existing partnerships with sports teams or casinos, and Fanatics, which is growing its sports betting market share and could forge a partnership ahead of the Sept. 12 deadline.
Other potential applicants are Penn Entertainment, which operates ESPN Bet, and gaming companies like Bally’s, Boyd Gaming, Caesars, and Rush Street Interactive, which expressed interest in entering the Missouri sports betting market during a presentation last December, according to Legal Sports Report.
On Aug. 13, the three applicants seeking untethered licenses get to make their case in front of the MGC. Two days later, the commission will announce the winners.
MO sports betting just 4 months away
Missouri is set to launch sports betting on Dec. 1. It will be the 39th state with legalized retail sports wagering and the 31st to allow online sports betting.
Voters approved a ballot referendum last November ushering in sports betting, and Missouri will soon join most of its neighboring states with a legal sports betting market.
Residents in Missouri’s largest cities will no longer have to cross into Illinois or Kansas to place a bet on sports.
Though bettors will miss out on the majority of the NFL and college football seasons, sports betting will be active in Missouri ahead of college football’s conference championships and bowl season, as well as the NFL playoffs, the Super Bowl, and March Madness.
