Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has taken a firm stance on sports betting just as Missouri prepares to enter the market for the first time, with pre-registration starting Nov. 17 and the launch slated for Dec. 1.
Key Takeaways
- Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes says he wants to avoid sports betting.
- His comments come off the back of a federal probe that rocked the NBA with insider-betting indictments.
- Missouri is also gearing up for its own sports betting launch on Dec. 1.
Speaking against a background of gambling-related federal investigations into NBA players, Mahomes said he has no interest in gambling on sports, calling it an unnecessary risk.
“I just stay away from it. I don’t want to put myself in that position. Your life is so great, why mess with it?” Mahomes told reporters last week.
The quarterback’s comments came days after the FBI announced charges against more than 30 people across 11 states in two linked criminal schemes. One involved insider sports betting tied to the NBA, and another centered on mafia-connected, high-stakes poker games.
Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, accused of tipping off associates about his planned early exit from a game, and Portland Trail Blazers head coach and Hall-of-Famer Chauncey Billups, who faces charges in a separate poker-rigging operation, have both been arrested and placed on NBA leave.
Despite recent scandals, Missouri’s sports betting launch remains a highly anticipated event. From Monday, users in the state can pre-register accounts with sportsbooks such as DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and bet365.
No money can be wagered on these accounts at the time being, but they will become active once the sports betting market launches on Dec. 1.
Mahomes' advice to bettors
Speaking at his Kansas City Chiefs press conference last Wednesday, Mahomes shared his disillusionment with sports betting.
"More than anything, to me, it gets weird sometimes when you have fans talking about it," he said. "You're just trying to go out there and live your life and play the game, and sometimes they get really attached even more than like the regular fan because they have money on the line."
"And, so, from me to them, I would just say, 'Don't do anything that you can't recuperate or live without,'" Mahomes said.
"It's a crazy world we live in these days, seeing all this stuff happen," Mahomes added. "But I think you just focus on the football and focus on the sport that you love and why you're here, and you don’t have to worry about other stuff."
Missouri first-year handle could approach $4 billion
Mahomes’ comments come as independent projections suggest that the state of Missouri could generate sports betting handle of $3.88 billion in its first year.
Analyst Christopher Boan of BetMissouri based the estimate on Missouri’s 2025 census projection and wagering data from five states of similar population size, including Maryland and Indiana.
His projections show that the state could see roughly $65.7 million in bets during its opening week alone, with more than $1 billion projected in the first four months. Those figures may be boosted by the fact that the St. Louis Blues play four games in the first week of launch, while the Kansas City Chiefs host the Houston Texans on Dec. 7.
Missouri set to replace ESPN BET with theScore Bet
Ahead of the launch of Missouri sports betting, PENN Entertainment has confirmed that it will be using its theScore Bet brand, rather than ESPN BET, in the state. The change was prompted by Disney ending its partnership with PENN, leading to ESPN moving its sportsbook to DraftKings.
Subject to regulatory approvals, theScore Bet is expected to operate through existing tethered licenses previously granted to ESPN BET. It will be part of a crowded marketplace for Missouri bettors.
DraftKings and Circa hold untethered licenses, while FanDuel, bet365, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, Fanatics Sportsbook, and others have already secured approval.
