Missouri voters approved legalized sports betting last November, but will have to wait until a possible Super Bowl four-peat by the Kansas City Chiefs next year in order to wager on it here.

The constitutional amendment, which passed with 50.05% support, allows  each of the state’s casinos and professional sports teams to offer on-site and mobile sports betting. Teams will control on-site betting and advertising within 400 yards of their stadiums and arenas. The initiative also allows two mobile sports betting operators to be licensed directly by the Missouri Gaming Commission.

The amendment called for legalized sports wagering to be up and running by Dec. 1, 2025, but MGC officials say they’re on track to be ready by sometime in June.

“Your viewers and many others in the state thought once the vote passed we could just flip a switch and sports wagering would go live. That’s not the way that it works, unfortunately,” said Jan Zimmerman, Chair of the Missouri Gaming Commission.

Rules are currently under review to govern the process for issuing licenses and the criteria that will be used to pick the two mobile licensees. Zimmerman hopes applicants for licenses will be able to start that process in early March, so that completed applications could be vetted in May, with wagering starting in mid to late June.

While the ballot language laid out specifics for how Missouri’s program needs to operate, Zimmerman said state regulators have also worked to learn from the 38 other states and Washington, D.C. which have already legalized sports wagering. 

Oklahoma is Missouri’s only border state without legalized sports betting. 

Last year, the online security firm GeoComply reported that it located and blocked 431,000 instances where a mobile device in Missouri was trying to access a legal sportsbook in another state during Super Bowl weekend. The company said 48% were trying to access sites in Kansas, while 37% were trying to reach sites in Illinois.

When Missouri’s program rolls out later this year, it will include a 10% tax on sports betting revenue. At least $5 million annually in licensing fees and taxes must go toward problem gambling programs, with remaining tax revenues earmarked for elementary, secondary and higher education.

Missouri will impose a 10% tax on sports betting revenue, which is below the national average of 19% that sportsbooks paid to states last year.

Under the initiative, at least $5 million annually in licensing fees and taxes must go toward problem gambling programs, with remaining tax revenues going toward elementary, secondary and higher education.

The American Gaming Association predicts a record $1.39 billion will be wagered legally when the Chiefs meet the Eagles on Sunday in New Orleans.

"If people in Missouri are disappointed they couldn’t bet on the Chiefs this year then maybe we’ll  be back in the Super Bowl next year and they can bet on us then," Zimmerman said.