Understanding How Legalized Sports Betting Will Work in the State of Missouri
The time is fast approaching.
Regulated sports wagering in the Show Me State is set to begin December 1, 2025.
While the Kansas City Chiefs are starting the 2025 season slow, you'll be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn't think they'll make the playoffs. This means Missouri residents will have a few Chiefs games to bet on legally this season.
A market forecast from Eilers & Krejcik estimates that Missouri sports betting is likely to see in the neighborhood of $3.4 billion in betting handle (wagers) during its first full 12 months. Those are some pretty sick numbers should they come to fruition.
Granted, a lot of this hinges on just how well the Chiefs perform during the waning months of 2025 and how deep they make it into the post season (assuming they get that far of course).
The Chiefs have appeared in the last three Super Bowls, winning two and losing the most recent to the Philadelphia Eagles. They won it in 2020 and lost to the Tom Brady-led Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021.
Prior to Patrick Mahomes being drafted in 2017, the Chiefs only had one Super Bowl title, won back in the 1969-70 season.
How Legalized Sports Betting Will Work in Missouri Beginning December 1
Missouri is set to allow up to 14 mobile sports betting apps (online licenses) when the market launches.
Most of these will be in conjunction with existing Missouri casinos and sports franchises like the Kansas City Chiefs.
Two are "untethered". This means zero current association with any entity currently operating in the state. DraftKings and Circa Sports were each awarded the "untethered" license.
Now let's take a look at other brands expected to be offering mobile sports gambing in The Show Me State.
Approved Mobile Sportsbook Operators in Missouri ("Tethered" - Requiring a local partner)
- Bet365 – Partnered with the St. Louis Cardinals.
- BetMGM – Partnered with Century Casinos.
- Caesars Sportsbook – Partnered with Harrah’s Kansas City and Horseshoe St. Louis.
- ESPN Bet – Partnered with Penn Entertainment’s Hollywood Casino and River City Casino.
- Fanatics Sportsbook – Partnered with Boyd Gaming’s Ameristar Casino locations.
- FanDuel – Partnered with St. Louis CITY SC.
The Daily Fantasy Sports site Underdog Sports has also applied for a license in the state in an effort to follow FanDuel and DraftKings into the more lucrative sports gambling market. It's not known yet whether Underdog Sports will be awarded a license as of this writing.
What Are the Tax Implications?
Federal and state-level taxes will apply to all sports bet winnings placed in the state.
Missouri casinos currently withhold 4% on gambling winnings of $1,200 or more. Sports bettors will easily be handing over approximately 25% of their sports betting income to the federal government.
The Future Looks Bright
A survey of 1,000 state adult residents conducted by Yahoo! Finance found that one out of five respondents are already placing bets outside of the state. Considering how successful the Kansas City Chiefs have been, these results should not come as much of a surprise.
Missouri is unique given that its two most populous cities, Kansas City and St. Louis, border states where sports betting is already legal. Additionally, folks still have the ability to bet offshore or with a local bookie.
The survey looked at the frequency with which people planned to bet once Missouri sports betting becomes legal, and found:
- 14% anticipate betting on sports at least weekly;
- 6% anticipate betting monthly; and
- 9% anticipate betting multiple times per year
Aside from the Chiefs, Missouri is home to two Major League Baseball teams, the St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals.
2026 promises to be a banner year for sports wagering as the FIFA World Cup takes place during the summer months.
Why that matters in Missouri especially?
Kansas City has been a significant player in the soccer scene for years, courtesy of Sporting Kansas City, while St. Louis is commonly referred to as America's original soccer city.
- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com
