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The launch of Missouri sports betting went well Monday, Missouri Gaming Commission Chair Jan Zimmerman indicated.
The start of legal sports wagering in the Show Me State capped off years of anticipation as eight mobile operators went to market, with a ninth possibly poised to join them soon.
Speaking to PlayMissouri, Zimmerman admitted that the launch happened relatively uneventfully–in a good way.
“Monday marked the successful and largely uneventful first day of legal sports wagering in Missouri—an important milestone made possible by the constitutional amendment narrowly approved by voters in the last general election. This smooth launch reflects the tremendous effort and professionalism of our rules-writing staff, who worked tirelessly to meet the constitutional deadline of December 1, 2025. Their dedication ensured that Missouri could implement a fair, secure, and responsible sports wagering framework on time and with confidence.”
Earnings + More newsletter reported that, based on a check with GeoComply, “more than 250,000 OSB (online sports betting) accounts were active on the market’s opening day and that 188,000 pre-registered accounts were created in the fortnight leading up to launch.”
Illinois betters could start coming to Missouri
In an exclusive interview with PlayMissouri, BetMGM Sportsbook Chief Revenue Officer Matt Prevost cited projections for statewide annual gross gaming revenue of $600 million.
Some of that revenue will, however, come at the expense of neighboring states. Prior to Missouri legalizing sports betting, scores of Missouri residents – mainly those in the state’s two major metro areas, St. Louis and Kansas City – traveled to Kansas and Illinois to place bets.
According to the Missouri Independent,
“Between Sept. 5 and Oct. 21, 2024, GeoComply – a software company that checks sportsbook users’ locations to determine whether they can place a bet – identified more than 216,000 mobile sports betting accounts in Missouri.
“During that time, more than 3,700 Missourians traveled to Kansas and more than 2,800 traveled to Illinois to bet on sports, according to data from GeoComply.”
The article also posited that because of per-wager bet charges newly instituted in Illinois, Missouri could see an influx of Land of Lincoln bettors coming over the border to wager.
Missourians have bevy of sportsbook options
Bettors in Missouri have plenty of options available to them, including eight online operators and eight retail sportsbooks.
DraftKings Sportsbook and Circa Sports were first to win approval through the untethered licensing process, and then BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, and Fanatics Sportsbook secured both mobile and retail licenses.
It was the same for PENN Entertainment, initially under the ESPN BET brand. Last month, though, PENN severed ties with ESPN and will now offer sports wagering through TheScore Bet, previously active in just Canada.
FanDuel Sportsbook and bet365 Sportsbook also secured mobile licenses. Underdog, which secured one as well, withdrew from the state’s sports wagering market just days before the Dec. 1 launch to focus on predictions markets.
Is Hard Rock Bet coming?
There could be another sportsbook joining them soon.
Earnings + More newsletter reported that Hard Rock Bet has won approval to operate in Missouri. PlayMissouri has reached out to the Missouri Gaming Commission for confirmation.
Legal Sports Report speculated that since its sportsbook tech supplier, Kambi Group, has a sports wagering supplier license in the state, licensure for Hard Rock might not be far behind.
