Sports betting is still illegal in Missouri as the state's only Power Four football program begins its regular season Thursday. It will stay unlawful when the season ends.

- Missouri's first legal online and retail sportsbooks won't go live until Dec. 1, meaning no legal bets for the entire college football routine season.

- DraftKings and FanDuel, the leading two operators by market share, plan to release Dec. 1, along with several other nationwide sportsbooks.

- The hold-up will cost Missouri millions in lost tax revenue and keeps gamblers from wagering on most of 2025 football video games.

Missouri's first legal online and retail sportsbooks will not go live till Dec. 1. This implies bettors in the Show Me State will not have a possibility to position a legal bet for the whole of the college football regular season.

That includes the University of Missouri's opener against Central Arkansas on Thursday through the Nov. 29 season finale at Arkansas.

Missouri bettors will be able to bank on the College Football Playoff in addition to the tail end of the NFL regular season. But Missouri will miss the huge majority of possible bets placed on football, far and away the most wagered-upon sport in America.

Come 2026, Missouri bettors will have the ability to wager on point spreads, totals, and moneylines for Mizzou and other in-state programs, unlike a ban in neighboring Illinois that prevents bets on the state's colleges, offering a small consolation prize.

Missouri sports betting background

Missouri citizens narrowly approved legal sportsbooks on the November 2024 tally. Similar to the other 39 states that have authorized legal sportsbooks, regulators needed to finish additional requirements, including licensing restrictions, monetary reporting, and a host of other key requireds.

The Missouri Gaming Commission (MGC), tasked with executing these regulations and licensing the future sportsbooks, revealed it would complete that work so sportsbooks could launch by June 30. The eight-month turn-around from citizen approval to very first bet would have put it in line with numerous of the other legal sports wagering states.

Instead, the launch was pushed back to the latest possible date.

Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, elected statewide on the exact same 2024 ballot that authorized sports wagering, denied the MGC's request for "emergency situation" guidelines that would have sped up the regulative procedure. Hoskins determined the guidelines didn't satisfy the exploration threshold, which pressed the launch date back to Dec. 1 - the last possible date permitted under the constitutional amendment passed by citizens on the tally.

This indicates Missouri will go nearly 13 months from legal sports betting approval to first bet, among the longest turn-arounds in the country. It will likewise cost the state millions of dollars in lost tax earnings.

Sportsbooks still delighted

The postponed start has actually not lessened sportsbooks' interest in Missouri.

Nine sportsbooks announced Missouri sports betting launch plans, with more potentially set to follow. This includes much of the significant national brands that comprise the large majority of the country's legal wagering deal with.

DraftKings, the No. 2 operator by market share, currently earned a mobile sports betting license. FanDuel, the No. 1 operator by share, partnered with MLS club St. Louis CITY SC for Missouri market gain access to and, like DraftKings, expects to go live Dec. 1.

Combined, the 2 books invested more than $40 million supporting the sports betting approval tally step.

Circa Sportsbook, the Nevada-based operator understood for welcoming "sharp" gamblers, also earned a sports betting license.

Other nationwide brands, including BetMGM, Caesars, Fanatics, bet365, and ESPN BET, likewise announced launch plans. Underdog, much better known for its dream choice 'em offerings, has actually likewise requested a mobile sports wagering license.

Other leading books that might look for licensure include Hard Rock, BetRivers, and Bally Bet.

The application deadline to go live before the Dec. 1 launch date is Sept. 12.

State law permits retail books at Missouri gambling establishments as well as within or nearby to the arenas of 6 major expert sports teams. The majority of Missouri's 13 casinos announced retail book opening plans, however it is uncertain if or when any will open.