Missouri’s mobile sports betting handle declined from December 2025 to January 2026 as an initial marketing blitz subsided and the number of potential football games to wager on declined.
- Missouri’s online sports betting handle dropped 29% from $538.8 million in December 2025 to $380.4 million in January 2026, while in-person handle slightly increased.
- Tax revenue fell sharply, with sportsbooks paying $138,000 in January, a 74% decline from December, due to deductions for free-bet promotions.
- FanDuel and DraftKings led the market, capturing nearly three-quarters of bets over the first two months, with DraftKings overtaking FanDuel in January.
The state’s online handle dropped from $538.8 million in its first month with legal betting down to $380.4 million in the second, a roughly 29% month-over-month decline, the Missouri Gaming Commission reported. Missouri’s eight in-person sportsbooks increased handle from $4.1 million to $4.7 million during that same time.
The drop was expected following a massive promotional blitz around the state’s Dec. 1 launch date. Sportsbooks spent more than $125 million on free bets in December compared to a little more than $33 million in January.
Fewer opportunities to bet on football, the most popular sport in the state (and nation), also contributed to the decline, as there were fewer NFL and college football games in January compared to December. Total football betting handle, not including parlays, declined more than 50% between the two months, dropping from nearly $152 million to $72 million.
Basketball took over as the most wagered-on sport in January, increasing handle from just under $99 million in December to slightly more than $109 million.
Missouri sportsbook taxes
The month-over-month decline in Missouri sports betting tax was more pronounced.
Missouri sportsbooks paid around $138,000 in taxes in January, a nearly 74% drop from the more than $521,000 paid in December. Retail books contributed nearly a third of the total taxes despite accepting a small fraction of the bets compared to online platforms.
Like many of the other 31 states with statewide mobile sports betting, Missouri allows sportsbooks to deduct free-bet promotional play against their tax liabilities.
The books could also deduct their outstanding adjusted gross revenue losses from free bets for the prior month. The December promotions around the launch date will likely be the highest in state history, but it has nevertheless curtailed the state’s potential for tax generation.
ICYMI: DraftKings topped FanDuel for the No. 1 handle spot in Missouri in January; FD edged DK for the top mark in December
— Ryan Butler (@ButlerBets) March 3, 2026
DraftKings - $144.4 m
FanDuel - $125.7 m
bet365 - $34.0 m
BetMGM - $33.0 m
Fanatics - $21.0 m
Caesars - $14.1 m
theScore Bet - $6.7 m
Circa Sports - $1.5 m
FanDuel, DraftKings, and Fanatics, the nation’s largest sportsbooks by handle, have not yet had to pay taxes in Missouri on their sports betting revenue due to their promotional deductions.
The books could continue significant promotional spend in February around the Super Bowl and in March for the NCAA Tournament, but figures are set to decrease substantially as the year progresses. Missouri projects to generate more than $20 million in annual sports betting taxes by 2030.
FanDuel and DraftKings tout launch
The nation’s two largest sportsbooks by market share extended that standing in Missouri’s first months of legal sports betting.
FanDuel, the No. 1 sportsbook by national handle share, topped the state’s eight mobile books in December by accepting nearly 40% of all bets placed that month. FanDuel executives on a recent earnings call touted the “excellent” launch, saying customer acquisition was “ahead of expectations.”
Around 5% of Missouri’s adult population placed a bet with FanDuel in the first 30 days of launch, making Missouri “one of our best state launches to date,” FanDuel wrote in its earnings statement.
DraftKings saw one of its highest customer acquisition penetration rates and its second-highest gross revenue per adult of any of its 18 jurisdiction launches since 2021, the company said in its earnings report. DraftKings took over the top spot in January from FanDuel, with 38% of the state’s betting handle to 33% for its rival.
DraftKings has accepted $339.7 million in bets during Missouri’s first two months with sports betting, compared to $338.4 million for FanDuel. The pair has accounted for nearly three-quarters of all bets placed in the state.
