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Most of Missouri’s sports betting industry is set in stone right now.
For starters, it’s not launching until December 1 — the latest possible date they could’ve. Obviously, missing most of the NFL betting season isn’t ideal. Not when it’s the peak month for legal sports betting for every single state, but at least they’ll catch the end of the regular season and postseason play.
We also know the tax rate will be 10 percent on revenue made. That’s an astronomically low number, especially when neighboring state Illinois just implemented a 25 to 50 cent tax on every sports wager made. That comes on top of raising sports betting taxes to as much as 40 percent for top operators a year ago. Missouri is charging pennies in comparison to Illinois.
Anyway, there are some unknowns in Missouri. The biggest one? Which operators are even going to be allowed in the state? However, we’re starting to see some clarity on this end. Keep reading and we’ll update you on where things are trending.
How Many Sports Betting Licenses Will There Be?
It won’t be necessarily hard to get a license to operate in Missouri, that’s for sure. That’s because all of the riverboat casinos in the Show-Me State can have their own betting partner. The state has 13 such casinos. The same goes for the six professional teams in the area. This alone accounts for 19 unique licenses, though a single operator can partner with multiple establishments.
But beyond those, there are two “untethered” licenses available. These are not tied to a casino or sports team.
Applications for licenses opened on May 16. That window will remain open until July 15. From there, final decisions will be made by August 15 so it’ll be a pretty boom-boom process soon.
So far, we know that DraftKings and Underdog have applied. That was confirmed by a Missouri Gaming Commission spokesperson in June. No word if they applied for one of those untethered licenses, but we’d assume yes.
DraftKings is all but guaranteed to get a license as they are the second-biggest operator by market share in the country. They also spent a boatload on advertisements in Missouri to get the initial ballot vote passed. Underdog, however, is more of a licensing longshot. It only has licenses in three states so far.
It’s worth noting that all licenses come with a one-time fee of $500,000. After that, all they would owe is a 10 percent tax on revenue.
Who Will Partner Will Casinos?
BetMGM has officially entered the Missouri market. In May, they announced a deal with Century Casinos to be its sports betting arm. The company operates two establishments — Century Casino & Hotel Cap Girardeau and Century Casino Caruthersville. The latter of which is the state’s only non-floating casino, that’s situated next to the Mississippi River.
“We are excited to partner with BetMGM, a leading online sports betting and gaming entertainment company with a dynamic and innovative brand” Erwin Haitzmann and Peter Hoetzinger, co-CEOs of Century Casinos, said in the release. “This partnership is another step forward in leveraging our Missouri licenses and delivering premium entertainment experiences for our customers.”
BetMGM will not only have a physical sportsbook at these casinos, but its mobile app will be fair game in and around the state. It’ll work anywhere, not just on casino grounds. Per the deal, BetMGM will kick some of its net gambling revenue back to Century Casinos a percentage of net gambling revenue. What that number is remains unknown.
As for the other Missouri casinos? They already have existing partnerships. Here’s a “lay of the land” per se:
- St. Jo Frontier Casino (Affinity)
- Mark Twain Casino (Affinity)
- Bally’s Kansas City Casino (Bally’s Corp.)
- Ameristar Casino Kansas City (Boyd Gaming)
- Ameristar Casinos St. Charles (Boyd)
- Harrah’s Kansas City (Caesars)
- Isle of Capri Casino, Boonville (Caesars)
- Horseshoe St. Louis (Caesars)
- Argosy Riverside Casino (Penn Entertainment)
- River City Casino (Penn)
- Hollywood Casino St. Louis (Penn)
So there’s not much mystery for the riverboat casino industry. However, the same can’t be said about the sports teams, which could be the biggest “catches” for operators.
Who Will Partner With Sports Teams?
The only domino to fall here was the St. Louis Cardinals. Back in March, the MLB team announced they would partner with bet365, a popular operator based out of England. No dollar figures were announced for those curious. All we know is the deal will include exclusive advertising rights (duh) and naming rights for a VIP-level area in right field (which previously went by Powerade Bridge).
To this point, it’s the only Missouri pro team in the area to announce a partnership. Here are the other five teams still yet to announce:
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Kansas City Current
- Kansas City Royals
- St. Louis Blues
- St. Louis City SC
Let’s be real, everyone is waiting to see who the Chiefs partner with. That is the most valuable property, and will likely remain for the next 5-10 years as long as Patrick Mahomes is on the team. The Chiefs know their worth and will price themselves accordingly. That likely leaves only DraftKings or FanDuel with a shot at nabbing them. This is the bidding war to watch from now until that August deadline.
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