Starting in 2025, sports fans across the Show-Me State will be able to place bets on sports events after a ballot measure on the November ballot barely passed after receiving financial assistance from Missouri’s pro sports teams, including the Kansas City Chiefs and Kansas City Royals.
Last week, state election officials certified that the sports betting measure passed with 50.05% support. While the constitutional amendment will take effect immediately, the betting itself will need to wait for a short amount of time, as legislators will need to draft rules and take applications from sports books across the country. Missouri Gaming Commission Executive Director Mike Leara is hopeful bets on sports will be able to be placed in Missouri by the mid-to-late spring months of 2025.
Missouri will join a group of 38 states and Washington, D.C. is allowing sports betting, a practice that has increased quickly after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision from 2018.
DraftKings and FanDuel, two companies that dominate the sports betting marketplace in the U.S., contributed approximately $43 million to support the Missouri sports betting initiative at the ballot, with a combined $2 million contributed by the Cardinals, Blues, Chiefs, Royals, St. Louis City FC and Kansas City Current.
