At least seven more Missouri sportsbooks are expected to earn temporary licenses Wednesday, a key procedural move that prepares them for a scheduled Dec. 1 launch.
Key Takeaways
- Missouri Set for Dec. 1 Launch: Seven sportsbooks are expected to get temporary licenses, joining DraftKings and Circa for the state’s debut.
- Nine Operators Ready: FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, ESPN BET, Fanatics, bet365, and Underdog will round out Missouri’s initial sportsbook lineup.
- Strong Market Outlook: DraftKings and FanDuel project to handle about 75% of wagers.
The Missouri Gaming Commission (MGC) is set to issue the temporary licenses ahead of a formal approval in the ensuing weeks, per a statement on the organization's website. The temporary licensees will then have to submit their internal controls and house rules to the MGC. Sportsbooks can then begin working with their third-party payment processors to prepare for launch.
Sportsbooks that have cleared these requirements can begin accepting deposits from Missouri bettors at 12:01 a.m. local time Nov. 17. The state’s universal go-live date is 12:01 a.m. local time Dec. 1.
Missouri will be the 39th state to offer legal sports wagering and the 31st to permit statewide mobile betting. Like all legal sports betting states, regulations pertain to where a bettor is physically located, not where they reside.
Many of the books that will launch in Missouri are already live in neighboring Illinois, Kansas, Iowa, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Most of these sportsbooks will also allow customers to bet in any of the eligible states with a shared wallet, meaning they won’t have to log in and out or download separate apps for each state.
Which sportsbooks are launching in Missouri?
FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, ESPN BET, Fanatics, bet365, and Underdog are expected to earn temporary Missouri sports betting licenses Wednesday. They will join DraftKings and Circa, both of which earned licenses earlier this year.
All nine are expected to go live Dec. 1.
Third-party tech supplier Kambi also applied for a sports wagering license. The company has not publicly announced if it will offer a customer-facing sportsbook or work with an existing operator.
DraftKings and Circa earned the state’s two “untethered” licenses, which allowed them to offer bets in the state without having to partner with a Missouri brick-and-mortar casino or professional sports team. The two books are expected to save millions in annual fees they would have had to remit to a land-based partner.
FanDuel, the U.S. market share leader by handle and revenue, was the third applicant for an untethered license. It announced a partnership with MLS team St. Louis City SC shortly after it wasn’t selected.
NEW: FanDuel has secured Missouri online sports betting market access via a partnership with MLS' St. Louis CITY SC, per release; the deal was announced hours after regulators picked DraftKings and Circa for the two "untethered" licenses; FanDuel set to take bets beginning Dec. 1
— Ryan Butler (@ButlerBets) August 15, 2025
FanDuel and DraftKings are either the No. 1 or No. 2 operator by handle in each of the roughly two dozen U.S. jurisdictions in which they both operate. They told the MGC they expect to have similar market share in Missouri, with the two anticipating accepting roughly three-fourths of all bets placed.
Circa earned the untethered license in part through its business model that focuses on “sharp” bettors who have been limited or banned at the major books. Though it expects to generate far less gross revenue than the market share leaders, Circa president Derek Stevens told the MGC he expects to attract a different type of bettor than the other books, expanding the state’s customer base.
Caesars and ESPN BET operator PENN Entertainment both qualified for mobile sports wagering licenses via operations of in-state casinos. Fanatics and BetMGM secured market access through deals with Missouri brick-and-mortar gaming operators Boyd Gaming and Century Casinos, respectively.
And bet365 partnered with MLB’s St. Louis Cardinals for market access. Underdog will launch its mobile sportsbook platform via affiliation with the Cardinals’ cross-state rivals, the Kansas City Royals.
