Missouri regulators issued seven additional temporary mobile sports betting licenses Wednesday, a key step for the books ahead of a scheduled Dec. 1 launch.
Key Takeaways
- Missouri Expands Licensing Ahead of Launch: Regulators granted seven new temporary mobile sportsbook licenses, bringing the total to nine operators set for the Dec. 1 go-live.
- Nine Major Operators Ready: DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, ESPN BET, Fanatics, bet365, Underdog, and Circa are expected to begin accepting wagers just after midnight Dec. 1.
- Retail & Team Partnerships: Up to eight retail sportsbooks could open Dec. 1, while pro team partners haven’t announced in-stadium books yet.
BetMGM, bet365, Caesars, ESPN BET, FanDuel, Fanatics, and Underdog secured temporary licenses from the Missouri Gaming Commission (MGC). They join DraftKings and Circa, which had earned their respective licenses earlier this year.
The temporary licenses advance all nine books a step closer to the state’s universal online and in-person Missouri sports betting December go-live date. All nine will need to submit internal controls, house rules and third-party payment processor information, among other requirements, before they can take bets.
All nine are expected to clear all approvals and begin taking bets shortly after 12 a.m. ET on Dec. 1.
More Missouri Sportsbook details
The nine sportsbooks will include operators that combined accept more than 90% of all legal bets placed nationwide.
FanDuel and DraftKings make up most of the nationwide total and are the highest or second-highest grossing sportsbook in all the roughly two-dozen U.S. jurisdictions in which they both operate. The two books testified to state regulators that each expects around one-third of the market share in Missouri.
BetMGM, bet365, Fanatics, Caesars, and ESPN BET all have single-digit national market share. These five books as well as DraftKings and FanDuel are already live in the neighboring states of Kansas, Illinois, Iowa, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
Missouri is set to be Underdog’s second real money sportsbook launch after North Carolina. Circa is live in five states, including Kentucky, Iowa, and Illinois.
Missouri law allows additional books to enter the market but they will not be able to do so on the Dec. 1 date. BetRivers and Hard Rock are among the notable national brands that did not apply for temporary licenses ahead of the deadline.
Retail book openings
Missouri bettors could also see as many as eight retail sportsbooks as early as Dec. 1.
Eight of the state’s 13 casinos have announced plans to open in-person books. That includes Fanatics-branded books at Boyd Gaming’s two Ameristar properties; a BetMGM book at Century Casino Cape Girardeau; Caesars books at Horseshoe St. Louis and Harrah’s Kansas City; and ESPN BET books at PENN Entertainment’s three Missouri casinos of Hollywood St. Louis, Argosy Kansas City, and River City.
Missouri permits the state’s six professional sports teams to partner with a third-party operator for an in-property book. None of the three teams that have sports betting partners – the St. Louis Cardinals (bet365), Kansas City Royals (Underdog), St. Louis City SC (FanDuel) – have announced in-stadium sportsbook plans.
Online sports betting, like in the other 28 states with both mobile and in-person wagering, is expected to make up the vast majority of Missouri’s overall betting handle.
Missouri sports betting suppliers
Along with online and retail sportsbook licences, the MGC also granted temporary licences to several key third-party tech and security platforms, which will help the sportsbook operators go live.
That list includes GLI, the leading independent sportsbook lab testing organization. GLI certification helps assure customers that a sportsbook can accept and payout bets, among other key components of the business.
GeoComply, a leading geolocation service that assures customers are located in a legal sports betting jurisdiction, was also approved. It joins IC 360, the nation's leading sports betting integrity monitoring service. Genius, a major sports betting stats and sports betting information supplier that helps sportsbooks price and offer prop bets, also earned a license.
Kambi, a major third-party tech supplier, earned a license as well. The company has not announced if it plans to power a future Missouri sportsbook or if it will pursue a customer-facing platform of its own.
