Chiefs Legend to Kick Off Missouri Sports Betting

Missouri sports betting is set to kick off in December, and like every launch before it, The Show-Me State will have a familiar face placing the first-ever wager: Kansas City Chiefs legend Tony Gonzalez.

This is a smart branding move by Missouri sports betting regulators. In the past, we have seen state officials and political figures place inaugural wagers. Turning to famous sports figures from the market makes so much more sense.

Frankly, professional athletes are more recognizable than local officials. Beyond that, they tie perfectly into what’s actually happening. Remember, we are talking about the launch of sports betting in Missouri. Why not use a living legend who spent the lion’s share of his NFL career playing in Missouri to draw attention to the rollout?

The Show Me State is clearly thinking along these same lines. Because as Kacen Bayless of The Kansas City Star writes, Gonzalez will not be the only sports star in attendance:

“The Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end will be part of a trio of Missouri sports icons to place a ceremonial first bet at the Andre’s at Palladium event venue in St. Louis Monday afternoon, according to a media advisory from gambling giant DraftKings. The DraftKings event, which is not open to the general public, will also feature former St. Louis Rams star Isaac Bruce and St. Louis Blues legend Brett Hull.”

Sticking Gonzalez front-and-center here, slightly ahead of Bruce and Hull, is also an easy decision. No league can compete with the popularity of betting on the NFL, particularly this time of year, with the NFL playoffs right around the corner.

Full Details of Missouri Sports Betting Launch

When Gonzalez places Missouri’s first-ever sports bet, it will end the long, winding journey it took to get here. Heck, at one point, we could not be sure that sports betting in The Show-Me State would actually be legalized. The margin of victory was so small that many wondered whether there would be a recount. (There wasn’t.)

A launch timeline also proved to be a source of drama. The state applied for an emergency exception in hopes of rolling out sports betting in time for the start of the NFL season. That request was denied. From there, the licensing application process featured an overabundance of candidates. Many wondered whether the Missouri Gaming Commission would need to request an extension. The amendment to the constitution stipulated that Missouri sports betting must launch by December 2025. It will go live officially on…December 1.

Here is Bayless again with the full details of how we got here:

“The narrow passage of an amendment to the Missouri Constitution last November opened the door for the state’s professional sports teams and casinos to offer sports betting. The vote came just two years after sports gambling became legal in neighboring Kansas. The major campaign supporting the amendment, called Winning for Missouri Education, was backed by every major professional sports team in Missouri and raised millions of dollars, including from gambling heavyweights FanDuel and DraftKings.

"The effort came after Missouri lawmakers had tried, and failed, to pass similar legislation amid bitter infighting among Senate Republicans over whether gas station slot machines, which exist in a murky legal area, should also be regulated. The coalition of sports teams, led by the St. Louis Cardinals, collected more than 340,000 signatures to place the measure on the ballot. Missouri will tax sports betting at 10 percent with revenue first going to the Missouri Gaming Commission to pay for expenses to regulate sports gambling and $5 million allocated to a fund intended to help prevent compulsive gambling.”

Educational Contributions Ended Up Swaying the Fate of Sports Betting in The Show Me State

The close-call nature of Missouri sports betting legalization left many wondering whether any one factor made a huge difference. As it turns out, the focus on education helped the initiative quite a bit.

Revenue projections for Missouri sports betting are somewhere in the tens of millions of dollars per year. After covering expenses and problem-gambling contributions, legal gambling is expected to provide unprecedented amounts of funding to The Show Me State’s educational programs.

Of course, it could take a couple of years for the gains to be realized. Tax revenue can be scant, in particular, during the opening 12 months. That is when top online sportsbooks in the United States run their most aggressive and frequent promotional bonuses. Those campaigns are able to be used as write-offs.

Still, the prospect of adding so much to the educational coffers resonated with a handful of Missouri sports betting skeptics. It is also what appears to have made the difference for House and Senate republicans. Many of them, led by former Senator-turned-Secretary-of-State Denny Hoskins, wanted video lottery terminals to be included. For years, the party seemed unwilling to move on that issue. It is no coincidence concessions materialized after increasing the contributions to educational practice was put on the table.

Granted Hoskins’ Senate exit also went a long way. He wasn’t the only one focused on VLTS. But he dug in his heels more than anyone.

At any rate, the wait is officially over. Now, over the next year or two, we can begin evaluating whether Missouri sports betting legalization is working as intended.

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: