FanDuel Officially Enters Missouri Sports Betting Market

FanDuel has officially secured its place in the Missouri sports betting market after hashing out a partnership agreement with Major League Soccer Club St. Louis City SC.

The news comes on the heels of the sportsbook conglomerate finding out that it would not be receiving an “untethered” license to offer sports betting in Missouri. That latter development was a shock in and of itself.

Along with DraftKings, FanDuel was the largest sponsor of the petition that ended up successfully legalizing sports betting in The Show-Me State. It was always assumed both companies would land one of the untethered Missouri sports betting licenses, which allow companies to offer their services independently. Without one, you cannot operate inside the market unless you are working in tandem with a Missouri casino or professional sports franchise.

Really, then, FanDuel’s agreement with St. Louis’ MLS club is not just a convenient business opportunity. It is a partnership suddenly borne out of necessity.

“Missouri is home to some of the most passionate sports fans in the country, and we are thrilled to partner with St. Louis City SC to introduce our industry leading product to The Show Me State,” said Mike Raffensperger, president of sports at FanDuel (via Legal Sports Reports’ Matthew Waters). “We look forward to supporting the team and engaging with the community as we bring America’s #1 Sportsbook to fans across Missouri.”

FanDuel’s Missouri Sports Betting Presence will be Limited to MLS Partnership…for Now

Given FanDuel’s reach and investment in the Missouri sports betting scene, many assume they will look to branch out beyond their partnership with St. Louis City SC. That may eventually prove true. In the meantime, though, they apparently will not be linking up with a Missouri casino. As Waters writes:

“FanDuel may have partnered with one of Boyd‘s two casinos in Missouri had their market access agreement not changed. The two sides recently tweaked the agreement that helped FanDuel expand across the United States. Flutter bought back the 5 percent stake in FanDuel that Boyd received in 2018 as part of the market-access agreement for $1.755 billion. They also renegotiated their agreement to pay fixed-fees across five states, not including Missouri. The new terms will save Flutter $35 million over the second half of this year. The sale of Boyd’s 5 percent stake should close in the third quarter.”

Finding another Missouri sports betting partnership with a casino could prove difficult. Bally’s has access to the market through its parent company’s Bally’s KC casino.

If any opportunities do present themselves, FanDuel will face competition. BetRivers and Hard Rock Bet have already been name-checked as companies who could seek to enter the Missouri sports betting market.

Missouri’s Licensing Decision Left FanDuel Scrambling

As one of the two leading operators of online sports betting in the United States, FanDuel’s acquisition of an untethered was supposed to be a lock. But the ground beneath them started to shake once Circa Sports sought to win an untethered Missouri sports betting license. With only two available to three applicants—Circa, FanDuel and DraftKings—one was always going to get left out in the cold.

Smart money had Circa Sports falling by the wayside. While they are trying to expand their foothold across the United States, they’ve only had real success at obtaining sizable market shares for sports betting in Nevada and sports betting in Kentucky.

The Missouri Gaming Commission’s decision to go with them over FanDuel shocked everyone. That clearly includes FanDuel itself. They did not line up sports-franchise agreements in the interim. Bet365 is the operator that secured the partnership earlier this year by striking a deal with MLB’s St. Louis Cardinals.

To be fair, FanDuel had other options. The Kansas City Royals (MLB), Kansas City Chiefs (NFL), St. Louis Blues (NHL) and KC Curren (NWSL) can also sign a Missouri sports betting partnership. And to that end, it is a little surprising FanDuel has not pursued a relationship with the most mainstream of the bunch: the Chiefs.

Will FanDuel Cannonball into the Retail Sports Betting Experience

It makes sense if FanDuel doesn’t want to shell out for an NFL, MLB or NHL sports betting partnership. These agreements permit operators to open in-venue or venue-adjacent sportsbooks.

That is not FanDuel’s business model. They traffic in online sports betting. That isn’t going to change just because they missed out on an untethered Missouri sports betting license. In fact, the company says they already have a nice chunk of The Show Me State’s online sports betting handle. According to company representatives (h/t Waters), FanDuel has “110,000 customers in Missouri that bet with the company in other states.” This comes out to about 2.3 percent of the state’s 21-and-over population.

Of course, FanDuel should expect this revenue stream to somewhat dissipate. Residents on the border of Missouri will soon have little reason to bet on sports in the neighboring Iowa, Kansas and Illinois. FanDuel will be fine for most of the 2025 NFL betting season, since Missouri won’t launch operations until December. After that, though, many customers will not find it as convenient, let alone necessary, to travel across state lines to bet on sports.

Whether this comes as a major blow to FanDuel is in the eye of the behold. The Missouri sports betting market does not profile as a top-10 moneymaker. However, it is not an afterthought, either. Beyond that, the course of events makes you think about other states. Specifically, if FanDuel can be quasi-shut out of The Show Me State, is it also possible they or DraftKings could be left out in the cold once California sports betting or Texas sports betting inevitably make it over the hump?

Take a look at this list of the top online sportsbooks so you can find one that works for all of your sports betting needs: