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The Kansas City Chiefs are knocking on the door of a third straight Super Bowl title. But if you live in the state they play in, Missouri, you’ll be shelled out of betting on them for the rest of the playoffs.
This is because Missouri’s sports betting scene is not up yet. In fact, it won’t be live for several more months if this new report is to be believed. Let’s bring you up to speed on the state’s legal sports betting situation is.
Sports Betting On Wait For Months At A Time
It’s the multi-million-dollar question: when will sports betting be available in the Show Me State? Right now, it’s looking like summertime. That timeline comes courtesy of Missouri Gaming Commission Chair Jan Zimmerman, who told local news legislation KCUR in an interview.
Zimmerman’s team has an all-important role in setting up shop inside the state — which is now the 39th to legalize in the United States. The commission is tasked with creating emergency rules, regulations, and licensing. The latter of which is the lengthiest, hence the multi-month timeline here.
As passed by voters, sports betting will only be legal through physical casinos, online apps, and professional sports teams. Who exactly gets those licenses still has to be figured out, but we can make some educated guesses based on the 21-license limit that was approved:
- 6 pro sports teams: Blues, Chiefs, Cardinals, Royals, Sporting KC, and St. Louis SC
- 13 casinos that are already inside the state (most of these are riverboat casinos)
- 2 untethered licenses
We can take a wild guess at who the two untethered licenses will be — DraftKings and FanDuel. Both are the unquestioned sportsbook leaders countrywide, but more importantly, the two spent a boatload of money to legalize betting in the state. They almost have to get rewarded with licenses due to that. It’s Zimmerman’s call here, but she’s taking it easy for now.
“There’s some advantages, I guess, to being relatively late to the game,” Zimmerman said.
The advantage? That dozens of other states, including neighbors, have already legalized by now. Missouri can lean on them for questions on rules and setting up a structure. Once the commission has regulations in place, they’ll need to be approved by both the governor and the Secretary of State before a month-long public comment period.
How Missouri Got Here
The state took a long, windy road to get here. Missouri tried on multiple occasions to legalize sports betting, but failed each time out. But in 2024, Winning For Missouri Education began a massive campaign to win support. That’s the campaign that both DraftKings and FanDuel funded to the tune of $40 million — one of the highest in history.
Of course, it takes more than just money to win support. This campaign also united the pro sports teams in the area. Mascots of the teams famously petitioned for signatures from voters to get the issue on the ballot box. They got the minimum 170,000 signatures and delivered them to lawmakers in a much-publicized stunt.
But that was only the start of the saga. Another campaign started up at the same time called the Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment. Judging by the name, you know what side of the debate they were on. Though, the initiative was backed by Caesars — who operate casinos in the state. So don’t think they were campaigning against legal sports betting, but more like casting stones at DraftKings and FanDuel getting into the market over them.
After months of ads both promoting and smearing sports betting, votes were finally cast in November. The sports betting proposition passed — barely with a stunning 50.05 percent of the vote. It was so close that the state flirted with a recount just to be sure. That didn’t happen though, and sports betting became official.
See, we told you it was a windy path to get here. Missouri bettors can breathe a sigh of relief now even if they have to wait a few more months to bet. Or do they? That leads us to our next section.
Betting Chiefs And Others In The Meantime
You don’t have to wait on the commission to bet on sports. Alternative ways to wager exist from now until the summertime (if that deadline is even met). We’d hate for you to miss out on Chiefs betting so we’re laying out two other options for you right here.
The first is visiting a neighboring state where betting IS legal. In a cool piece of trivia, Missouri is bordered by eight states — the most in the country. Funny enough, seven of those eight states have legal sports betting. The only one that doesn’t is Oklahoma. But states like Kentucky, Illinois, Nebraska, Tennessee, and a few others can be traveled to in order to bet.
However, driving could be a hassle and money suck since gas ain’t cheap these days. A better route would be to lean on an offshore betting site. We’ve tried them inside Missouri and they work perfectly fine because they’re based in foreign countries. This allows them to sidestep many U.S. regulations, including who they take on as bettors like Missouri residents.
If you’re looking for a reliable offshore sportsbook, may we suggest one of these five. We know the industry can be shady, but trust us, the six sportsbooks below are the real deal:
Best Betting Sites 