Missouri Sets Late 2025 as Launch Date for Sports Betting

The Missouri Gaming Commission confirmed this week that the state's long-delayed entry into the regulated online gambling market will officially begin on December 1, 2025, the final deadline set by voters in a constitutional amendment passed last year.

Initial hopes for an early rollout were dashed when Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected the emergency rule filings that would have enabled a summer launch. His decision effectively locked in the latest possible start date, first reported by Covers and confirmed by Legal Sports Report.

This latest delay continues a years-long saga for Missouri sports bettors. Despite neighboring states like Illinois and Indiana quickly embracing sports betting after the 2018 Supreme Court decision paved the way, Missouri’s legislature spent years mired in infighting. Disputes over licensing models and attempts to tie video lottery terminals (VLTs) to sports betting bills repeatedly derailed progress.

Even Caesars Entertainment—typically a proponent of gambling expansion—opposed the 2024 push due to concerns about “untethered licenses,” which would have allowed operators without a physical presence in the state. Caesars, which owns four Missouri casinos, favored a model that tied online licenses to existing retail operations.

Only after lawmakers stripped the VLT provisions from the bill did it finally gain enough support to pass. Now, VLT advocates are pursuing standalone legalization, a move that could further complicate Missouri’s gaming future.

 

The Prospects of Online Casinos

The approval of online sports betting naturally raises questions about the potential for legal online casinos in Missouri. However, precedent from other states suggests this may be a bridge too far—at least for now.

States like Pennsylvania and Michigan successfully legalized both online sports betting and casino gaming. But attempts to follow that path in Illinois, New York, and Indiana have largely stalled. One notable exception is Rhode Island, where a state-run gambling monopoly simplified the legislative process.

For Missouri, the road to online casinos is likely to be even steeper. The sports betting referendum barely passed, and expanding further into iGaming could face resistance from multiple fronts. Retail casinos may see online casino games as a direct threat to their core business, unlike sports betting, which tends to complement rather than cannibalize in-person play.

Public sentiment could also be an obstacle. With the narrow margin of victory in the sports betting vote, lawmakers may be hesitant to push further expansion too quickly.

The fate of Missouri’s VLT legislation could have long-term implications for online casino prospects. In Illinois, the entrenched interests of small businesses that rely on VLT revenue have become a powerful lobbying force against online gambling.

If VLTs are legalized in Missouri, a similar dynamic could emerge. Small business owners and machine manufacturers would likely oppose online casinos, viewing them as a threat to their newly secured income stream. Retail casinos, already forced to compete with VLTs, would have even less incentive to support iGaming.

 

Missouri’s long path to legal sports betting shows just how complex gambling legislation can be—especially when competing interests over licensing and video terminals collide.

Bottom Line

Missouri’s sports betting launch is finally in sight, but it comes at the end of a long and politically fraught process. While bettors can mark their calendars for December 1, 2025, any hope of legal online casinos remains a distant—and uncertain—prospect. For now, the state’s focus remains on getting its sports betting industry off the ground while navigating the next political battle: video lottery terminals.