Missouri’s regulated sportsbooks can start accepting wagers as of 12:01 a.m. local time Dec. 1, state regulators announced, clarifying the launch time of the state’s long-anticipated legal betting debut.
Though bettors will miss out on most of the NFL’s Week 13, the early morning start means bettors will have nearly the full day to wager on that week’s Monday Night Football game between the New York Giants and New England Patriots. The NHL’s St. Louis Blues will also host a home game later that night.
The Dec. 1 start also means in-state bettors won’t have a chance to play a legal bet on any regular-season football game except the annual Army-Navy game scheduled for Dec. 13. Bettors will have an opportunity to wager on the ensuing weekend’s conference championship games.
Bettors will also miss out on the entirety of the University of Missouri's 2025 regular season as well as all but four Kansas City Chiefs games. Football is expected to make up the majority of legal wagers placed in Missouri beginning with the 2026 season.
Missouri sports betting launch timeline
Missouri voters technically legalized sports betting in November 2024. It will be more than a year before they accept their first legal bets.
The ballot measure legalizing online and retail betting in the state narrowly passed last fall. Like the other 38 states to approve sports betting, state regulators had to approve follow-up policies such as licensing requirements, employment qualifications, financial reporting, and a host of other key measures.
The Missouri Gaming Commission (MGC) had hoped to approve these requirements in time for a June 30 launch, which would have given the state access to the entirety of the lucrative football season. Instead, requests for approval of “emergency” regulations were denied by the Missouri Secretary of State’s office.
The emergency approval would have sped up the timeline. Instead, the launch was pushed back to Dec. 1, the latest date allowed by language in the ballot measure.
More Missouri sportsbook information
In announcing the early morning start time, the MGC also said it would allow in-state bettors to deposit into approved sportsbook accounts as of 12:01 on Nov. 17. The commission expects to issue the list of eligible sportsbooks that can accept deposits on that date - and accepting bets Dec. 1 - by Oct. 22.
The application deadline for operators to be eligible for the Dec. 1 go-live date was Sept. 12.
Nine sportsbook brands applied by the deadline. Kambi, the third-party sports betting odds and tech supplier for BetRivers, also applied.
DraftKings and Circa have already earned licenses and will be eligible to accept deposits Nov. 17 and bets Dec. 1. Most of the state’s other sportsbook applicants are live in multiple other states and will likely also meet the licensing requirements.
National sports betting brands FanDuel, Caesars, ESPN BET, BetMGM, and Fanatics applied for licensure. Underdog, better known for its daily fantasy sports pick’em platform, also applied for licensure as a sportsbook.
Six of the eight states that border Missouri allow statewide mobile wagering. That includes Illinois, which shares the St. Louis metro and Kansas, which splits the Kansas City region.
The two metro areas account for most of the state’s population and were the two regions most supportive of the ballot measure. Missouri bettors who have established accounts with most of the aforementioned sportsbooks will be able to bet from their home state using those same apps beginning Dec. 1.
