Underdog will no longer be amongst the sportsbooks launching in the state of Missouri on Monday. The Missouri Gaming Commission confirmed with Fox2Now that Underdog has pulled its operating license application.
Underdog declined to comment when reached by Covers Tuesday evening.
Key Takeaways
- Legal sports betting is due to launch in the Show-Me State on Monday.
- Underdog’s license and partnership with the Kansas City Royals is now available.
Legal sports betting will be available throughout Missouri beginning Monday, with eight licensed operators for players to choose from. The operators going ahead with the Monday launch include DraftKings, Circa Sports, Caesars Sportsbook, BetMGM, bet365, theScore Bet, Fanatics, and FanDuel.
Underdog has chosen not to operate in the state and is no longer on the regulator’s published list of companies with approved sports wagering mobile licenses.
In an interview with Fox2Now, Mike Leara, executive director of the Missouri Gaming Commission said he believes Underdog has chosen to focus its attention on predictive markets, rather than sports betting.
Enjoying Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account“They have decided to go to that market… It’s not regulated at any level compared to what traditional sports betting is regulated, and obviously, there’s no tax on it,” Leara said.
Royals partnership is now available
Underdog announced on Sept. 29 a partnership with Major League Baseball’s Kansas City Royals. At the time, the sportsbook said that its multi-year collaboration with the Royals would include a marketing campaign as well as “philanthropic efforts.”
Under Missouri sports betting law, all but two applicants are required to partner either with a state casino or a professional sports team for licensure eligibility. The state’s two “untethered” licenses were awarded to DraftKings and Circa Sportsbook.
North Carolina to remain Underdog’s only sports betting state
Underdog was also one of the first sportsbooks to apply for an operating license in the Show-Me State back in June. This latest development comes despite a considerable advertising campaign from the sportsbook, which had been running ahead of the upcoming launch.
Underdog runs a daily fantasy sports site in 41 U.S. states, but Missouri would have been only its second traditional sportsbook market. North Carolina will remain the only state in which the company offers sports betting, for now.
