By 
Missouri has flirted with sports betting legislation for years, but as of now, both online and retail betting remain illegal statewide. Despite support from pro teams like the Cardinals and Chiefs, political gridlock has kept every proposed bill from crossing the finish line.
That doesn’t mean bettors in the Show-Me State are out of options. Offshore sportsbooks like BetUS, Bovada, and BetOnline continue to serve Missouri residents with full-featured betting platforms. These sites offer everything you’d expect — secure deposits, fast payouts, sharp odds, and mobile access — without needing state approval.
In this guide, we’ll break down Missouri’s current betting laws, what’s likely to happen next in the legislature, and most importantly, which offshore sportsbooks are safest and best for Missouri players right now.
-
EXCLUSIVE BONUS
50% bonus up to $250Play NowT&C apply, 18+, Play responsibly
-
50% bonus up to $250Play Now
T&C apply, 18+, Play responsibly
-
EXCLUSIVE BONUS 125% up to $2,000Play Now
T&C apply, 18+, Play responsibly
-
50% up to $200Play Now
T&C apply, 18+, Play responsibly
-
200% up to $1,000Play Now
T&C apply, 18+, Play responsibly
Quick Missouri Facts
| State | Missouri |
|---|---|
| ⚖️ Sports betting laws | ❌ Not legal — Efforts ongoing but no success yet. |
| 👫 Population | 6M — Big market still waiting on regulation. |
| 👶 Minimum gambling age | N/A — No set age without regulation. |
| 🏙️ Retail sports betting | ❌ No retail sportsbooks allowed. |
| 🌐 Online sports betting | ❌ No regulated websites or apps. |
| 📱 Mobile sports betting | ❌ Mobile betting also banned. |
| 🐎 Online horse betting | ❌ No legal online horse wagering. |
| 🏆 DFS | ✅ Legal since 2016 — DraftKings & FanDuel operate. |
Is Sports Betting Legal In Missouri?
Yes, sports betting is legal in Missouri — but it’s very recent. Voters approved it through Amendment 2 in November 2024, making Missouri the 39th state to legalize sports betting. The law allows both retail and online wagering at licensed operators inside state lines.
This victory didn’t come easy. The amendment passed by just 7,486 votes out of nearly 2.9 million cast, making it one of the closest betting referendums in the country. Despite the narrow margin, the “yes” campaign had major backing. Missouri’s biggest sports teams — the Chiefs, Cardinals, and Royals — formed a coalition called Winning for Missouri Education. Together, they helped gather over 340,000 signatures and ran a high-visibility campaign, spending millions to push the measure through.
Now that it’s passed, the Missouri Gaming Commission is in charge of building the licensing framework for sportsbooks. This process is ongoing, so legal sportsbooks likely won’t go live until mid-to-late 2025.
In the meantime, offshore sportsbooks like BetOnline and Bovada remain available and widely used. Many Missouri bettors continue using these platforms for their full betting menus, early odds, crypto support, and fewer restrictions. We'll cover those trusted offshore options next.
Top 7 Missouri Sports Betting Sites
We get asked all the time, “what are the best offshore sportsbooks?” Well, our answer is below. These are our top-7 favorites sites for Missouri bettors:
- Bovada - User-friendly interface and reliable mobile betting experience.
- BetOnline - Competitive odds and early line releases.
- BetUS - Extensive range of betting bonuses that pay big time.
- XBet - Really top-notch mobile betting app.
- BetNow - Generous welcome bonuses and ongoing promotions for regular players.
- Everygame - Long-standing reputation and multi-language support for international bettors.
- MyBookie - Innovative rewards program for long-term betting.
#1 Bovada
#2 BetOnline
#3 BetUS
#4 XBet
#5 BetNow
#6 Everygame
#7 MyBookie
Latest Missouri Legal Betting Updates
Jul 11, 2025 09:19 AM
Missouri has begun accepting sports betting license applications, imposing a 10% wagering tax that will largely fund education across the state.
Missouri Sports Betting Timeline
It's been a tug-of-war to legalize betting in the state. Here's a timeline snapshot of everything that's happened in recent years:
Best Sportsbooks In Each Category in Missouri
| Best overall | Name of Bookie |
|---|---|
| Best bonuses |  |
| Most unique bonuses |  |
| Top VIP program | |
| Best reputation |  |
| Best sportsbook |  |
| Best casino |  |
| Best mobile app | |
| Best for new players | |
| Best for high rollers | |
| Best up-and-coming sportsbook | |
Where Are Sportsbooks Like Fanduel, DraftKings, and Caesars?
With sports betting now legalized in Missouri as of November 2024, major sportsbooks like FanDuel, DraftKings, and Caesars are expected to receive licenses to operate within the state. Since the passage of Amendment 2, these companies are preparing to launch their platforms for Missouri residents, offering a legal alternative to offshore sites.
Previously, offshore betting sites filled the gap in Missouri for decades, thriving in the absence of legalized options. While the legalization may lead many bettors to switch to licensed platforms, some bettors may remain loyal to offshore sites due to “stickiness”—a term marketers use to describe when customers stay on a platform because switching feels like a hassle.
Now that Missouri has joined the ranks of legalized sports betting states, residents can look forward to using reputable, licensed sportsbooks directly within the state.
Latest Missouri Betting News
Aug 5, 2025 08:44 AM
DraftKings and FanDuel Could be in for an Unwelcome Missouri Sports Betting Surprise
Jul 10, 2025 06:00 AM
Missouri Sports Betting Launch Might Look Like a Disaster — and It’s By Design
Jun 5, 2025 12:12 AM
Missouri Sports Betting Could Reap Surprise Benefits from New Illinois State Bill
Betting On Politics, Esports, And Entertainment In Missouri
You’ll then be able to bet on politics, esports, and entertainment, right? No, you almost certainly won’t. Most state regulators strictly disallow this type of wagering since it’s not a true “sport.” We expect Missouri to adopt the same stance.
The ONLY place to bet these non-sport outdone are offshore betting sites. Nothing is off the table here — from the U.S. Presidential election to movie box office results to WWE, all of it works just fine. Offshore betting sites thrive by offering more betting markets than their legal counterparts.
Betting Apps In Missouri
Almost all bettors prefer to bet on mobile these days. This is a trend that’s only going to continue growing too. That’s why we have an in-depth guide to betting apps. It’s sort of like this page, but laser-focused on the best apps. There will be overlap with sites listed in this article because these days, you need to do both right to truly be among the best.
Start Betting In Missouri Today — Our Guides
You don’t want to just bet in Missouri. No, you should want to win at betting. But how? Well, it starts with knowing what you’re doing. For all the must-know information, start with the betting guides below:
- Top Betting Tips — want to make money wagering? Read this!
- Best Sports Betting Strategies — the above article is a college 101 class to this one, which takes your betting to the next level!
- How Do Odds Work — self-explanatory here, learn everything there is to know about understanding betting odds.
- Types of Sports Bets — a complete primer to the various types of sports betting forms.
- Betting Odds Calculator — calculate how much money a bet or parlay pays out
Payment Methods Available For Missouri Sportsbooks
Sportsbook sites accept most of the major payment methods, including the ones below:
- VISA — the co-most popular card accepted on betting sites.
- Mastercard — the other co-most popular card across the betting landscape.
- Bitcoin — the payment method that'll earn you the most free play.
- Bank wire — the tried-and-true payment method.
We should note that only offshore sites are allowed to transact with crypto. Regulated bookies like FanDuel are not legally allowed to accept coins by all state regulators. Chalk this up as another advantage of going offshore.
Missouri Casinos And Resorts
All casino betting in Missouri is done through riverboats — yes, riverboats. It's old-school, but it's fun (as long as you don't get sick in the water easily). Here's the riverboat options available right now:
- Ameristar St Charles
- Ameristar Kansas City
- Argosy Casino Riverside
- Harrah’s North Kansas City
- Hollywood Casino St. Louis
- Isle Casino Cape Girardeau
- Isle of Capri Casino Booneville
- Isle of Capri Kansas City
- Lady Luck Casino Caruthersville
- Mark Twain Casino La Grange
- Lumiere Place St. Louis
- River City Casino St. Louis
- President Casino Laclede’s Landing
- St. Jo Frontier Casino St. Joseph
History of Missouri Legalization Efforts
We provided a timeline of events before, but here's a little more context to the situation over the years:
2018-2019: Early Momentum
Even before the US Supreme Court decision that made it possible for Missouri to open up sports betting legalization, they had already introduced six bills trying to do just that. The state seemed poised to capitalize on this.
However, this momentum died out in 2019. The betting deal was a sweet deal for some, but did not provide a lot of tax revenue. This caused the state legislature to decide to take a seat and think about the best way to handle sports betting legalization. It seems less a quesiton of if and more of when.
2020-2021: Continued Advancement but No Cigar
In 2020, again, six bills to legalize sports betting were introduced. These bills often included integrity fees and league data. Another conflict yet to be resolved among these bills is whether or not to restrict riverboats.
It seems like there is a lot of debate about how to handle the different interest groups in the Show-Me State. Expect the revenue dollars to be a motivation and Missouri to get sports legalization passed over the next few years.
2021-2022: Video Lottery Terminals Derail Sports Betting Efforts
For so long, a lack of support among members of the Senate has been considered the biggest obstacle to gambling expansion in the state. More specifically, repeated filibustering from Senator Denny Hoskins has scuttled Missouri sports gambling hopes on a near-annual basis. The Senator is an avid proponent of including video lottery terminals (VLTs) in any sports betting legislature. Most of his peers, though, don’t like the idea of approving a form of gambling that is especially tough to regulate.
2024-Now: Sports Betting is Legalised
On Election Day, November 5, Missouri voters faced a key decision on sports betting with Amendment 2 on the ballot. Following a costly $50 million campaign, the measure passed by a narrow margin of 7,486 votes out of 2.9 million, making Missouri the 39th state to legalize sports betting.
Betting on Missouri Sports Teams
The current Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs are the resident NFL team in the state. No other professional teams in the state really have the fanbase that the Chiefs have, and it continues to grow as the Chiefs are becoming a stronger team year after year — a true dynasty!
The Kansas City Royals are one of the Major League Baseball teams in the state and were quite popular in the ’70s and into the ’80s but have lost relevance since then. In recent years, they made it to the World Series and became the topic of conversation again. In 2015, they made it back to the World Series and won their second title in franchise history. Success has been slow in the decade since though.
The St. Louis Cardinals have been around for over 135 years, with 28 playoff appearances, 23 pennants, and 11 World Series victories. They are the oldest team in Missouri by a longshot.
St. Louis also hosts an NHL team, the St. Louis Blues. They too lifted their first ever Stanley Cup Trophy a few years ago, a watershed moment in the franchise's history.
Other Types Of Betting In Missouri
The state does indeed have casinos — 13 by our count. But as we mentioned earlier, they are all on a boat along the river(s). These riverboat casinos can be accessed from St. Louis, Kansas City, and other pockets of the state. Of course, none of those casinos allow for online wagering, strictly in-person.
Missouri also has a state-run lottery. An 18-year-old can enter this Powerball, but the casino’s age limit jumps to 21. Sports betting, if passed, will also be 21.
Finally, DFS (daily fantasy sports) is fully allowed throughout Missouri too. It’s considered a game of skill, not chance, and this doesn’t fall into the same category as sports betting — though we’d argue making sports wagers is quite the skill too.
Sports Betting Rules In Each State
Wanted detailed betting guides to other states? We got you! Here's our complete directory:
Responsible Gaming In Missouri
This is really important. Please make sure that you’re gaming responsibly. What do we mean by that? We mean making sure that your betting experience remains fun and controlled — not the complete opposite (reckless and stressful).
There are some things you should do right now to prevent the fun from ever stopping. For starters, setting clear limits for yourself. This translates to deciding on a budget for how much you’re willing to spend (and sticking to it). As soon as you want to pull out more money “just this one time”, you start building bad habits — bad habits that can wreck you if given enough time.
Also when betting, please avoid "chasing losses." You lost money, just let it go. When you get emotional, you start making rash decisions to "get it back" — this too becomes a dangerous habit in the long run.
We’re not here to scare anyone — just offering some friendly advice. Also, if you need some urgent help, we’ve listed some clutch resources below.
Gamble Aware (https://www.gambleaware.org/)
A non-profit organization providing resources and support for individuals struggling with gambling addiction.
International Center for Responsible Gaming (https://www.icrg.org/)
The International Center for Responsible Gaming (CRG) is a research institution dedicated to promoting safe gambling practices and addressing gambling-related issues.
24/7 Gambling Support Line (https://www.ncpgambling.org/help-treatment/about-the-national-problem-gambling-helpline/)
A round-the-clock helpline offering immediate assistance and guidance for those experiencing gambling-related problems.
The following resources are specific to Missouri:
Missouri Alliance to Curb Problem Gambling (https://888betsoff.org)
A 24/7 confidential helpline (1-888-BETSOFF) offering support, treatment referrals, and information for individuals struggling with problem gambling in Missouri.
Missouri Department of Mental Health – Problem Gambling Services (https://dmh.mo.gov)
Provides resources, counseling, and referrals to treatment services for individuals and families affected by gambling addiction in Missouri.
CenterPointe Hospital – Gambling Addiction Treatment (https://centerpointehospital.com)
Offers specialized treatment programs for gambling addiction, including both inpatient and outpatient services for individuals in Missouri.
