Sports betting is still not legal in Missouri as the state's lone Power Four football program begins its routine season Thursday. It will stay illegal when the season ends.

- Missouri's first legal online and retail sportsbooks will not go live till Dec. 1, meaning no legal bets for the entire college football regular season.

- DraftKings and FanDuel, the top two operators by market share, plan to introduce Dec. 1, along with numerous other national sportsbooks.

- The delay will cost Missouri millions in lost tax earnings and keeps gamblers from betting on most of 2025 football games.

Missouri's first legal online and retail sportsbooks won't go live up until Dec. 1. This implies wagerers in the Show Me State will not have a chance to position a legal bet for the whole of the college football routine season.

That consists of the University of Missouri's opener against Central Arkansas on Thursday through the Nov. 29 season ending at Arkansas.

Missouri bettors will be able to wager on the College Football Playoff as well as the tail end of the NFL routine season. But Missouri will miss the huge majority of potential bets placed on football, by far the most wagered-upon sport in America.

Come 2026, Missouri wagerers will have the ability to wager on point spreads, overalls, and moneylines for Mizzou and other in-state programs, unlike a restriction in neighboring Illinois that prevents bets on the state's colleges, offering a little alleviation reward.

Missouri sports wagering background

Missouri citizens narrowly approved legal sportsbooks on the November 2024 ballot. As with the other 39 states that have actually sportsbooks, regulators needed to complete additional requirements, including licensing restrictions, financial reporting, and a host of other key requireds.

The Missouri Gaming Commission (MGC), entrusted with carrying out these regulations and licensing the future sportsbooks, revealed it would finish that work so sportsbooks could launch by June 30. The eight-month turn-around from voter approval to very first bet would have put it in line with a number of the other legal sports betting states.

Instead, the launch was pressed back to the current possible date.

Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, chose statewide on the very same 2024 ballot that approved sports wagering, rejected the MGC's ask for "emergency situation" guidelines that would have accelerated the regulatory process. Hoskins determined the guidelines didn't fulfill the expedition threshold, which pushed the launch date back to Dec. 1 - the last possible date permitted under the constitutional change gone by citizens on the ballot.

This suggests Missouri will go nearly 13 months from legal sports betting approval to very first bet, one of the longest turnarounds in the nation. It will likewise cost the state millions of dollars in lost tax earnings.

Sportsbooks still delighted

The postponed start has actually not decreased sportsbooks' interest in Missouri.

Nine sportsbooks revealed Missouri sports betting launch strategies, with more possibly set to follow. This includes much of the major nationwide brands that comprise the large bulk of the country's legal betting handle.

DraftKings, the No. 2 operator by market share, currently earned a mobile sports betting license. FanDuel, the No. 1 operator by share, partnered with MLS club St. Louis CITY SC for Missouri market access and, like DraftKings, expects to go live Dec. 1.

Combined, the two books invested more than $40 million supporting the sports betting approval ballot measure.

Circa Sportsbook, the Nevada-based operator understood for inviting "sharp" gamblers, also earned a sports betting license.

Other nationwide brand names, including BetMGM, Caesars, Fanatics, bet365, and ESPN BET, likewise revealed launch strategies. Underdog, much better known for its fantasy pick 'em offerings, has actually also looked for a mobile sports wagering license.

Other leading books that could make an application for licensure consist of Hard Rock, BetRivers, and Bally Bet.

The application due date to go live before the Dec. 1 launch date is Sept. 12.

State law permits retail books at Missouri gambling establishments in addition to within or nearby to the arenas of six major professional sports groups. Most of Missouri's 13 casinos revealed retail book opening strategies, but it is uncertain if or when any will open.