The Kansas City Chiefs are back in the Super Bowl. That means Chiefs fans have one more opportunity to back their team at the sportsbooks.
No doubt the Kansas City faithful would have loved Arrowhead Stadium to host Super Bowl LV this Sunday. Alas, as it happens, the opposing Tampa Bay Buccaneers will enjoy “home-field” advantage as the game was already scheduled to be played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
As Missouri continues to work on legalizing sports betting, some residents will certainly be looking to get some skin in the game.
While Arrowhead resides in Missouri close to the state line with Kansas, neither of those states has yet to legalize sports betting. However, Chiefs fans have several choices in nearby states where sportsbooks are gladly accepting Super Bowl LV wagers.
To the south: Arkansas
The first legal sportsbook opened in Arkansas in July 2019.
Thus far, only two retail sportsbooks are up and running. One is at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort in Hot Springs. The other is at Southland Casino Racing in West Memphis.
Those are the only choices in Arkansas for now, as online sports betting is not allowed in the state.
To the east: Illinois
The first legal wager accepted at an Illinois sportsbook occurred in March 2020. Since then, not only have more retail operations opened but online sportsbooks have also gone live.
For Missourians, the nearest retail sportsbooks in Illinois sit just over the border from St. Louis. Aside from the close option at Argosy Casino Alton, DraftKings Sportsbook at Casino Queen in East St. Louis has also opened for business. Most of the other sportsbooks in the Land of Lincoln are much further north near Chicago.
As far as online sportsbooks go, Illinois boasts several enticing brands, including DraftKings, BetRivers, FanDuel Sportsbook, PointsBet, and William Hill. You can wager at these from anywhere in the state.
You might have heard about Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker imposing a requirement that new users finalize online account registrations at retail sportsbooks. However, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic forcing casinos to close and/or operate irregularly, that in-person requirement has been suspended for the time being. This order will remain in place until Feb. 6, the day before Super Bowl LV.
However, the suspension could be extended again.
To the north: Iowa
Iowa launched its first sportsbooks in August 2019. Both online and retail sports betting is legal in the state.
In the Hawkeye State, you don’t need to be at a casino to register an account at an online sportsbook. Most of the usual suspects operate sportsbooks in the state. That includes BetMGM, DraftKings, PointsBet, and William Hill. You can also place bets online via the Elite sportsbook, the Hard Rock Sioux City sportsbook, and the Q Casino sportsbook.
Meanwhile, there are 19 commercial casinos in Iowa, and almost all have retail sportsbooks open. Three of the state’s four tribal casinos also have sportsbooks.
The easiest drive for those in the northern part of Missouri would be to the William Hill sportsbook at Lakeside Casino in Osceola, or to head west to brick-and-mortar books located in the several casinos in Council Bluffs.
To the southeast: Tennessee
Finally, Chiefs fans in the eastern part of Missouri might be glad to know that Tennessee launched legal sports betting in late October.
Interestingly, the state’s sports betting law requires all sportsbooks to operate online only. That means you can create accounts and place your bets on your phone, tablet or computer from anywhere in the state.
There are four online sportsbooks currently up and running, three of which you can probably guess by this point: BetMGM, DraftKings, and FanDuel. There’s also one local sportsbook based in Nashville, Action 24/7.
Long story short: While Missouri still awaits legalized sports betting, Chiefs fans willing to go the extra yard or two to make their Super Bowl bets have a number of options in nearby states.
