Missouri sports betting

Last updated: September 2026 | Missouri Gaming Commission licensed operators only | 21+

Missouri became the 32nd state to offer statewide legal online sports betting when wagering went live at 12:01 AM on December 1, 2025 - more than a year after voters narrowly approved Amendment 2 in November 2024, by a margin of just 2,961 votes out of nearly 3 million cast. Eight online sportsbooks launched simultaneously: bet365, BetMGM, Caesars, Circa Sports, DraftKings, Fanatics Sportsbook, FanDuel, and theScore Bet, alongside 13 retail sportsbook locations.

The launch numbers were genuinely enormous. Missourians wagered $543 million in December 2025 alone - more than 99% of it online. But the state's actual tax take from that first month was $521,000. Not $521 million. Five hundred and twenty-one thousand dollars, on more than half a billion in wagers.

This isn't a reporting error or a rounding issue. It's the direct, intended consequence of how Amendment 2 was written - and understanding the mechanism is essential for any Missouri bettor evaluating what "legal sports betting" actually delivers to the state that voters were promised would fund education and problem gambling treatment.

See how this state compares with online gambling laws across all 50 states.

Is sports betting legal in Missouri?

Yes. Amendment 2 passed on November 5, 2024, amending the Missouri Constitution to authorize both retail and online mobile sports wagering for adults 21 and older. The margin was razor-thin - certified final results showed 1,478,652 votes in favor against 1,475,691 against, a difference of 2,961 votes, or roughly 50.05% to 49.95%.

Must be 21+ and physically located within Missouri at the time of any wager. Geolocation technology verifies your location for every online bet. College sports betting is permitted, including on in-state teams like the Missouri Tigers - Missouri imposed no college sports betting ban, unlike several other states.

The licensing structure: The Missouri Gaming Commission (MGC) oversees the market. Up to 21 online sportsbook "skins" are ultimately available, distributed across three categories: licences tethered to Missouri's professional sports teams (Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Blues, St. Louis City SC, and Kansas City Current), licences tethered to Missouri's licensed casino properties, and two "untethered" licences that don't require a team or casino partnership. DraftKings and Circa Sports won the two untethered licences on August 15, 2025.

The promotional deduction loophole: how $543 million in bets produced $521,000 in tax

This is the defining story of Missouri's sports betting launch, and it deserves a precise explanation rather than a summary.

The tax structure Amendment 2 created: Licensed operators pay 10% tax - not on total handle (the amount wagered), and not even on straightforward gross gaming revenue (handle minus winnings paid out), but on "adjusted gross revenue." The adjustment is where the entire controversy lives: operators are permitted to deduct the cost of promotional credits and free bets from their taxable revenue before the 10% rate applies. They can also carry forward net losses to offset future months' tax liability.

What this meant in practice during the launch period: Missouri's 16 licensed operators (a broader count including retail-only licensees) collectively gave customers more than $125 million in free bets and promotional credits during the first two months of the market. In December 2025 alone, gross gaming revenue was approximately $103 million against roughly $125 million in promotional spending - meaning the promotional cost exceeded the revenue generated, producing a net loss for tax purposes even though the state's bettors wagered over half a billion dollars.

FanDuel and DraftKings paid zero tax in the launch period. The two operators combined accounted for almost three-quarters of Missouri's total handle in the first two months - DraftKings taking $339.7 million in handle against $54.4 million in revenue, FanDuel taking $338.4 million in handle against $65.6 million in revenue. Both companies posted a net loss in December (the launch month, when promotional spending was heaviest) and carried that loss forward into January, meaning neither paid a cent of Missouri sports betting tax through the first two months of legal operation.

The trajectory through early 2026: January 2026 handle fell nearly 30% to approximately $384–385 million as operators scaled back promotional spending, with revenue rising to $53.3 million as the promotional deduction shrank correspondingly. By March 2026, cumulative handle since launch had surpassed $1.5 billion - yet total state tax revenue collected remained just $3.6 to $4 million.

What voters were promised vs. what they got

Amendment 2's campaign - funded largely by DraftKings and FanDuel, who spent a combined $43 million on the initiative campaign against a $15 million opposition campaign financed by Caesars Entertainment (which owns three Missouri casinos) - explicitly promised sports betting tax revenue would fund public education, including increased teacher pay, plus a Compulsive Gambling Prevention Fund for treatment and problem gambling research. The state government's own pre-launch estimate projected up to $28.9 million in annual revenue.

The gap between promise and delivery has become a genuine political controversy. Missouri state Senator Rusty Black (R-Chillicothe), who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, responded to the first month's $521,000 tax figure by noting it "doesn't necessarily match the commercials that got this passed." A legislative bill (HB 3533) was introduced in 2026 specifically to address the promotional deduction mechanism and increase the effective tax take. At a public hearing before the Crime and Public Safety Committee on April 28, 2026, however, the bill's own sponsor acknowledged that the tax increase provision had been removed from the legislation - meaning the promotional deduction loophole remains unresolved and in force as of mid-2026.

Why this matters if you're a Missouri bettor: The promotional deductions that are costing the state tax revenue are the same mechanism funding the aggressive welcome offers you're being offered as a new customer. DraftKings' Missouri welcome package, for instance, offers new users up to $1,100 in bonuses - a package this large is directly enabled by the tax treatment that lets DraftKings write off the cost against its Missouri tax bill. Understanding this connection doesn't change whether you should claim a welcome offer, but it explains why Missouri's offers have been especially aggressive relative to more mature, lower-deduction markets.

Why Missouri took six years longer than its neighbours

Missouri's December 2025 launch came more than seven years after the Supreme Court's May 2018 decision striking down the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which had prohibited state-level sports betting outside Nevada. That ruling opened the door for every state to legalise - and most of Missouri's neighbours moved quickly. Iowa launched in 2019. Illinois and Tennessee followed in 2020. Kansas launched in 2022. Missouri remained one of a shrinking handful of holdout states for years, watching border residents cross state lines specifically to bet legally elsewhere.

Why the legislature couldn't get it done: Missouri's General Assembly attempted sports betting legislation in multiple sessions from 2018 onward, but repeatedly failed to reach agreement - the central sticking point was a proposed link between sports betting legalisation and "video lottery terminals" (VLTs, a form of slot-machine-style gaming machine placed in bars, convenience stores, and other non-casino locations), which some legislators wanted bundled into any sports betting bill and others firmly opposed. Session after session, the VLT dispute prevented sports betting legislation from passing on its own.

The ballot initiative route: Facing repeated legislative failure, Missouri's professional sports teams - the Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Blues, St. Louis City SC, and Kansas City Current - organised and funded a direct ballot initiative campaign, bypassing the legislature entirely. This is the origin of Amendment 2: a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment rather than an ordinary bill, which is also why it required a statewide voter referendum rather than a governor's signature, and why changing its terms now (including the promotional deduction mechanism covered above) requires either another constitutional amendment or careful legislative work within the amendment's existing framework rather than a simple bill.

The financial scale of the campaign: The 2024 initiative campaign - funded primarily by DraftKings and FanDuel alongside the sports teams - cost approximately $43 million, one of the most expensive ballot initiative campaigns in Missouri history. Caesars Entertainment, which owns three Missouri casinos and stood to face new competition from team-affiliated sportsbook licences, funded a $15 million opposition campaign. The amendment nonetheless passed by the narrowest of margins.

What this history explains about the promotional deduction controversy: Because Amendment 2's specific tax and deduction language was drafted by the campaign that funded it - largely DraftKings and FanDuel - rather than emerging from a legislative committee process with independent fiscal analysis, the promotional deduction mechanism that has proven so costly to state tax revenue was, in effect, written into the state constitution by the same companies now benefiting most directly from it. This is not unique to Missouri - similar promotional deduction structures exist in other states' sports betting tax codes - but the ballot-initiative origin explains why closing the loophole requires more political and legal effort than a standard legislative fix would.

Deposit methods at Missouri sportsbooks

Minimum deposits typically range from $5–$10 depending on the operator and method. As with every other US regulated sportsbook and casino covered on this site, the method you use to deposit is generally the method you'll need to withdraw to first, before alternative methods become available.

Missouri's licensed online sportsbooks

Market share by handle and revenue: FanDuel and DraftKings dominate, combining for roughly three-quarters of total Missouri handle and revenue. bet365 ranks third by both handle and gross gaming revenue share - consistent with bet365's broader US growth trajectory covered elsewhere on this site.

Welcome offers: why Missouri's are especially aggressive

Because Missouri's tax structure allows operators to deduct promotional spending from their tax base - effectively meaning the state subsidises new-customer acquisition costs through forgone tax revenue - welcome offers in Missouri have launched more aggressively than in many mature markets.

DraftKings Missouri: Up to $1,100 in bonuses, structured as a choice between a bonus bets package and a deposit match - among the largest welcome structures DraftKings offers in any state.

Fanatics Sportsbook: FanCash, Fanatics' loyalty and rewards mechanism (covered in detail in this site's Fanatics Casino review), extends to the Missouri sportsbook product - described by at least one industry tracker as "one of the more unique reward programs" among Missouri's launch operators.

The honest framing: Missouri's welcome offers are genuinely competitive by national standards specifically because the promotional-deduction tax mechanism makes aggressive customer acquisition cheaper for operators here than in states with straightforward gross-revenue taxation. Whether that's a feature or a bug depends on whether you're evaluating this as a bettor (feature - bigger welcome offers) or a Missouri taxpayer (bug - the state isn't collecting the revenue voters were told to expect).

No online casino in Missouri - sports betting only

Unlike the six states with full online casino coverage on this site (New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, West Virginia, Connecticut, and Rhode Island), Missouri has not legalised online casino gaming. Amendment 2 covered sports wagering exclusively. As of mid-2026, no iGaming legislation has been introduced in the Missouri legislature.

What Missouri does have: 13 licensed land-based casinos, operating under the Missouri Riverboat Gambling Act since 1993 - one of the longer-established land-based casino frameworks in the Midwest, predating the sports betting legalisation by more than three decades. These physical casinos remain your only legal Missouri casino gaming option; none currently offer a legal online casino product to Missouri residents.

Daily Fantasy Sports: DFS remains separately legal and regulated in Missouri, and continued operating throughout the period before sports betting launched - worth knowing if you were a Missouri DFS player before December 2025 and are now also evaluating sports betting specifically.

Missouri sports betting tax for players

State income tax on winnings: Missouri has a state income tax, and gambling winnings are includable as taxable income under state law, consistent with standard treatment across most states with income tax. Missouri's state income tax is graduated, topping out at a rate below several neighbouring states.

Federal tax: All gambling winnings are taxable federal income regardless of state. Under the 2026 One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), gambling losses are deductible only up to 90% of winnings (reduced from 100% previously) if you itemise deductions. The W-2G reporting threshold for slot-machine-style wins was raised to $2,000 in 2026, though this applies to casino-style wins rather than standard sports bet settlements, which have their own longstanding reporting thresholds (generally $600 at odds of 300:1 or greater).

Responsible gambling in Missouri

The Missouri Gaming Commission requires all licensed operators to provide standard player protection tools: deposit limits, loss limits, session time limits, and self-exclusion.

Missouri's self-exclusion programme: Administered through the MGC, covering licensed casino and sports betting operators. Contact the Missouri Gaming Commission directly (mgc.dps.mo.gov) for registration details.

The Compulsive Gambling Prevention Fund: Established under Amendment 2 specifically to receive a portion of sports betting tax revenue for problem gambling research, treatment, and recovery programme funding. Given the promotional-deduction mechanism's effect on overall tax collection (covered in detail above), the practical funding available to this programme in Missouri's first year of operation has been a fraction of what pre-launch estimates projected - a genuine, if underdiscussed, consequence of the tax structure controversy for the state's problem gambling treatment infrastructure specifically.

National Helpline: 1-800-GAMBLER. Free, confidential, 24/7.

Frequently asked questions

Is sports betting legal in Missouri?

Yes, since December 1, 2025, following voter approval of Amendment 2 in November 2024 by a margin of 2,961 votes. Missouri became the 32nd state with statewide legal online sports betting. Must be 21+ and physically in Missouri to place bets.

Why did Missouri only collect $521,000 in tax from $543 million in bets?

Missouri's 10% sports betting tax applies to "adjusted gross revenue" - a figure that allows operators to deduct promotional credits and free bets from their taxable revenue, and to carry forward net losses to future months. In December 2025, operators' combined promotional spending (approximately $125 million) exceeded gross gaming revenue (approximately $103 million), producing a net loss for tax purposes despite the enormous betting volume. FanDuel and DraftKings, who combined for roughly three-quarters of Missouri's handle, paid no tax at all in the first two months as a direct result.

Which sportsbooks are licensed in Missouri?

Eight launched at the December 2025 opening: bet365, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, Circa Sports, DraftKings, Fanatics Sportsbook, FanDuel, and theScore Bet. DraftKings and Circa Sports hold Missouri's two "untethered" licences, which don't require a team or casino partnership.

Is online casino gambling legal in Missouri?

No. Amendment 2 covered sports betting only. Missouri has 13 licensed land-based casinos under the 1993 Riverboat Gambling Act, but no online casino (iGaming) legislation has been introduced as of mid-2026.

Will Missouri close the promotional deduction tax loophole?

A legislative bill (HB 3533) was introduced in 2026 to address the mechanism, but the tax increase provision was removed from the bill before an April 28, 2026 committee hearing. The promotional deduction loophole remains in force as of mid-2026, with no confirmed timeline for legislative change.

Can i bet on Missouri college teams?

Yes. Missouri imposed no ban on college sports betting, including on in-state teams like the University of Missouri Tigers.

21+ only. Must be physically located in Missouri at the time of any wager. T&Cs apply - verify current welcome offers directly with each operator. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. Tax information is general guidance - consult a qualified tax professional. Information correct as of September 2026.