Missouri Sportsbook Options Set To Grow With Pending PENN Casino Openings

PENN Entertainment is set to open retail sportsbooks at both its Missouri residential or commercial properties, per current company task posts. This is likewise a precursor, most likely, of the business's plans to introduce its mobile ESPN BET sportsbook statewide.


- PENN Entertainment is working with for retail sportsbook managers at its two Missouri casinos, signaling plans to offer both in-person and mobile wagering through ESPN BET.
- FanDuel and DraftKings lead the race for Missouri's 2 untethered mobile licenses, while other significant operators like bet365, BetMGM, and Underdog seek access through collaborations.
- Despite legal provisions for extensive in-person wagering, just a couple of retail sportsbooks-including those at PENN casinos-are confirmed ahead of the Dec. 1 launch.


PENN is hiring sportsbook supervisors at its 2 Show-Me State Casinos, Hollywood Casino St. Louis and River City Casino, both in the St. Louis metro location. The job posts are the clearest indication yet PENN plans to use retail books at its 2 managed properties in the state.


The company confirmed that its Argosy Riverside home in Kansas City will also have a book.


Missouri's 2024 constitutional amendment that legalized sports betting lets state casinos also partner with mobile sportsbooks. PENN appears poised to team up with one of two homes for market access for ESPN BET, the online sports wagering platform it operates utilizing the eponymous brand.


Missouri's first online and retail books are set to start taking wagers Dec. 1. It will be the 39th U.S. state to accept legal sports bets.


ESPN BET might sign up with approximately a dozen mobile sportsbooks in Missouri.


FanDuel and DraftKings, the 2 U.S. sports wagering leaders by market share, as well as Circa currently got among the state's 2 "untethered" mobile licenses. These licenses don't require a third-party sportsbook operator to partner with a Missouri brick-and-mortar gambling establishment or pro sports group and are awarded independently of the "tethered" licenses.


FanDuel and DraftKings, which integrated have more than 7 million month-to-month active users nationwide, are the heavy favorites to win the two untethered licenses. The Missouri Gaming Commission (MGC) is needed to weigh potential consumer acquisition, revenue generation and marketing spend to name a few essential requirements for licensing, which would offer them a considerable edge over Circa, which focuses on a small subset of passionate wagerers.


The MGC is scheduled to announce the two winners Aug. 15.


The sportsbook that does not earn the untethered license can still partner with among the state's gambling establishments or sports teams. The application deadline is September, with an official statement of all licensees expected from the MGC at some point before the Dec. 1 launch date.


PENN is employing Sportsbook Managers at its River City and Hollywood Casinos near St Louis, per recent task posts, a clear indication it will open ESPN BET retail books at each property; company likewise has direct market access to launch ESPN BET mobile book in Missouri as early as Dec. 1


bet365 revealed a market access agreement with MLB's St. Louis Cardinals previously this year. BetMGM struck a comparable handle Century Casinos, which runs two Show-Me State gaming properties. MGM, which co-owns and operates BetMGM in addition to European video gaming company Entain, doesn't handle a Missouri casino.


Since July, Underdog is the only other company that made an application for a license or revealed a partnership.


In addition to PENN, Bally's and Boyd Gaming likewise handle both Missouri gambling establishments and internal mobile sportsbook brand names. This indicates Bally's and Boyd's particular eponymous online books are eligible for licenses, though it's unclear if either will go live. Bally Bet has less than 1% market share in its existing markets and Boyd Sportsbook is just available in Nevada.


Caesars operates 3 gambling establishments in Missouri however funded a campaign to stop the 2024 tally measure that legalized sports wagering over issues the enacting legislation put the business at a competitive disadvantage. Caesars hasn't explained its sports wagering strategies in the state.


Fanatics, BetRivers and Hard Rock are amongst the leading U.S. sportsbooks that do not share a business that operates a Missouri casino however might nevertheless pursue a license.


In-person sportsbook potential


Missouri law permits more combined retail casino and in-stadium sportsbooks than any other state. It remains to be seen the number of will in fact take bets.


Four months before these books can accept wagers, the two PENN properties in the business's job posts and a book beside the Cardinals' Busch Stadium are the just announced in-person wagering options. Century Casinos in its press release announcing the BetMGM market access offer said the arrangement consisted of the capability to open in-person books at its Missouri casinos, not that it planned to do so.


The state's other gambling establishment operators have not announced retail strategies. None of the 5 other Missouri pro sports groups (MLB's Kansas City Royals, the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs, the NHL's St. Louis Blues, MLS' St. Louis City SC and the NWSL's Kansas City Current) revealed retail (or online) sportsbook partners.


Several retail books at the handful of arenas in other states that allow in-person wagering closed, as have books at casinos. Online wagering now makes up more than 90% of bets positioned, a figure that continues to grow each year as digital user interfaces, and payouts end up being progressively convenient through mobile apps.