Share 
Last Friday, the Missouri Gaming Commission awarded the first two operator licenses ahead of the Dec. 1 launch of sports betting in Missouri.
On the same day, Google announced that it was expanding its advertising policy to include Missouri sports betting.
After completing an application process, sportsbooks in the Show Me State can now tap into the immense reach that the internet’s digital giant provides.
Google wastes no time
With the first sports betting Missouri licenses being granted, GoogleAds immediately modified its Gambling and Games policy to read:
“We will begin to accept and run ads for sports betting from certified, state-licensed entities in Missouri from August 15, 2025.”
Currently, the only operators given the green light to offer sports betting in Missouri are DraftKings and Circa Sports, the two winners of the untethered license sweepstakes that concluded Friday last week after presentations before the commission on Wednesday.
FanDuel, the odd sportsbook out in the contest, immediately announced a partnership with Major League Soccer franchise St. Louis City SC. It looks to secure at least one of the 31 available tethered licenses – 19 retail and 12 mobile – which require a partnership with a Missouri-based sports team or casino.
Sportsbooks will begin operations in Missouri a little over a year after voters narrowly approved a ballot measure allowing the state to proceed with the licensing process. Four neighboring states – and the majority of states across the US – allow legal sports betting.
Google the undisputed king of digital advertising
Sportsbooks can’t automatically create online ads reaching Missouri’s Google users. To advertise, operators must complete an application with Google to receive a GoogleAds account number.
According to SEMRush, Google enjoys the lion’s share of digital ad revenue in the US, with nearly 40% market share in 2023. That’s more than double its closest competitor, Facebook.
In fact, Google’s ad revenue share dwarfed entities like Amazon, which had only 7% of digital ad share in 2023, and Apple, with its meager 1%.
GoogleAds makes up a significant amount of Google’s revenue. The same SEMRush article, pulling from Statista’s data, said ads generated $237.8 billion of Google’s $305.6 billion revenue in 2023, nearly 78%.
Google’s ad revenue is expected to increase to more than $340 billion by 2027.
