Missouri’s legal sportsbooks took in just over $543 million in wagers during the state’s first month of legal betting, state regulators announced Friday.
However, that half-billion in handle for the Show-Me State's recently launched bookmakers only translated into $521,200 in tax money for Missouri in December, the figures show.
While there was $104 million in gross revenue, high levels of promotional deductions by customer-seeking sportsbook operators tamped down the overall haul. Several major sportsbooks offered new and returning customers what were essentially can't-lose promotions, such as would the Kansas City Chiefs and their opponent combine to score at least one point in an upcoming game.
Online sportsbook operators reported adjusted revenue loss of ($21.6) million for the month, which vastly outweighed the $887,331.73 in revenue reported by brick-and-mortar sportsbooks.
The negative revenue reported by operators DraftKings and FanDuel, the state's highest-grossing books, meant they owed no tax in December, despite accounting for more than $400 million of all wagering in the state.
FanDuel topped DraftKings with $212 million in December handle compared to $195 million. FanDuel generated just under $46 million in revenue, before promotions, compared to $31.6 million for DraftKings.
Combined, the two books accounted for more than 75% of all Missouri sports betting handle in its first month, in line with its averages in other states. FanDuel and DraftKings are the two highest-grossing books in each of the roughly two-dozen US jurisdictions in which they both operate.
Bet365 ranked third in both handle and gross revenue. BetMGM was fourth in handle, though sixth in revenue. Fanatics was fifth in handle and fourth in revenue, just ahead of Caesars which finished sixth in handle and fifth in revenue. TheScore Bet was seventh in both categories, followed by Circa, which was eighth.
- Missouri sportsbooks launched Dec. 1, 2025, drawing millions of login attempts and positioning the state for roughly $4 billion in annual betting handle.
- Eight online sportsbooks launched and eight retail books opened last month, with FanDuel and DraftKings expected to control about 75% of the market.
- Regulatory delays, team partnerships, and the pending Kansas City Chiefs relocation could shape Missouri’s long-term sports betting revenue.
Football was the most wagered-upon sport, with just under $150 million in bets, followed by basketball with just over $98 million. Parlays combining two or more bets were the most bet-upon category, generating roughly $213 million in handle.
There were more than 2.6 million legal sportsbook login attempts on the Dec. 1 launch day, according to geolocation tracking firm GeoComply. Those came from more than 250,000 active sports betting accounts.
GeoComply recorded more than 18.5 million login attempts in Missouri’s first week of legal betting coming from more than 520,000 separate accounts.
Missouri is expected to generate around $4 billion in handle in its first full year of legal sports betting, per a Covers analysis. Based off the industry’s projected 10% average hold, that would lead to $400 million in operator revenue.
December 2025, as with most other state launches, is expected to generate disproportionately higher revenue as sportsbooks advertise heavily and offer new sign-up offers and other bonuses for new users.
NFL regular season months including September, October, November, and December are expected to be among the state’s highest-grossing months.
Missouri revenue report's long road
The first Missouri sports betting revenue report release comes more than a year after state voters approved legal sportsbooks.
Voters narrowly approved legal sports betting via a constitutional amendment on the November 2024 ballot. A series of regulatory delays pushed the launch back to Dec. 1, 2025, the latest date permitted by the ballot measure.
The nearly 13-month timeline between approval and first bet was among the longest of any of the 39 states to approve legal sportsbooks.
Nine online sportsbooks earned licenses. That included DraftKings and Circa, which secured the state’s two “untethered” licenses that allowed it to enter the state without having to partner with a Missouri third-party brick-and-mortar casino or professional sports team.
BetMGM, bet365, Caesars, FanDuel, Fanatics, and theScore Bet also started accepting bets in Missouri Dec. 1. Underdog, the ninth book to earn a license, pulled its application and shuttered its North Carolina sportsbook to focus on its prediction market and daily fantasy sports pick’em offerings.
FanDuel and DraftKings are expected to be the two highest-grossing sportsbooks in the state, as they are in the roughly two-dozen states in which they both operate. In license testimony before the Gaming Commission, the two books told regulators they expected to generate a combined 75% or more of the total Missouri sports betting handle at market maturity.
Eight Missouri casinos opened retail sportsbooks Dec. 1. These are expected to generate 5% of the state’s total betting handle.
The Missouri ballot measure allowed any of the state’s six professional sports teams to partner with a third-party operator to open a retail book within or adjacent to their respective home stadiums. None have announced plans to do so.
Chiefs relocation impacts
One of those six teams may soon lose its sports betting options.
The Kansas City Chiefs are expected to leave Missouri for a new stadium in Kansas by 2031. Missouri lawmakers have introduced legislation that would strip the Chiefs of the rights to open a retail book at their current home venue, Arrowhead Stadium, or to partner with a third-party mobile operator (which it hasn’t done so).
GeoComply recorded more than 10,000 accounts during the Chiefs Dec. 8 game against the Houston Texans, the first NFL game played in Missouri after the legal sports betting launch. It remains to be seen how a pending re-location could impact Missouri or Kansas’ sports betting handle.
The Chiefs missing the playoffs in 2025, the franchise's first time falling short of the postseason since 2014, could have a more significant impact on Missouri sportsbooks’ bottom lines. Home teams tend to draw significant handle around playoff games, with each round generating more betting activity.
