KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County. Share your story idea with Tod.
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In less than six weeks, fans will be able to live bet sports from their game-day tailgate or inside GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium during Chiefs games.
Sporting gambling in Missouri: Betting coming to Chiefs tailgates in less than 6 weeks
When Kansas City hosts the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football next week, it will mark the last home primetime game before legalized sports gambling goes live in Missouri.
“I’ll be thankful, very thankful,” Marcus Burns, a former Chiefs season ticket member, said Tuesday after buying a hat at the team store inside Arrowhead.
He’s among the Chiefs fans who have been forced to go to great lengths to put money on a game as sports gambling became legal in seven of the eight states surrounding Missouri, including Kansas and Illinois, while infighting within the Show-Me State legislature scuttled legalization efforts year after year.
“Normally, friends I go (to games) with are on the Kansas side, so we go over there, pick them up and place our bets,” Burns said. “Then, we come over here.”
If a player is a surprise inactive and you’re already at the tailgate, too bad. That net is locked in there’s no changing it from the Arrowhead parking — at least not until Dec. 1.
“We expect big things out of Missouri sports betting out of the gate,” Christopher Boan, an analyst for BetMissouri.com, said. “This is a market that has been pent up for a long time.”
BetMissouri projects more than $65.6 million in total wagers during the first week sports gambling is legal in Missouri.
The Chiefs host the Houston Texans on Sunday Night Football to cap the week. The Dec. 7 game will air on KSHB 41.
Earlier that day, the Border Showdown between No. 19 Kansas and arch-rival Mizzou takes place at the T-Mobile Center in downtown Kansas City, while the week also features four St. Louis Blues games and a full slate of college football conference championships games.
The NFL playoffs arrive during the second month sports gambling is legal in Missouri followed by the Super Bowl, the Winter Olympics and March Madness, leading BetMissouri to project a total handle of more than $262.6 million in the first four months.
“It’s one of the best sports markets in America, and it’s got a real potential from day one to kind of become one of the upper echelon states sports betting-wise,” Boan said.
Missouri voters narrowly approved Amendment 2 in November 2024, which legalized betting on sports in the state. Sports-gambling revenues are subject to a 10% tax and player props for in-state college athletes are prohibited under Missouri law, though they are legal in neighboring states.
Missouri Gaming Commission Chair Jan Zimmerman is in charge of managing the rollout of sports gambling in the state.
I’ve spoken with Zimmerman, who is also the director of the Kansas City Metropolitan Crime Commission’s SAFE Fund, several times about sports gambling in Missouri during last year’s election and in the months since Amendment 2’s passage.
On Tuesday, I asked her, “If you needed, could you guys go live today?”
Zimmerman laughed: “No, absolutely not. I know everybody would like for us to go live, but we’ve got to make sure we do it right.”
Before the geofencing on apps comes down and sports books open up, the Gaming Commission must finish vetting all prospective employees in the sports-wagering industry, a process that includes Missouri State Highway Patrol background checks among other things.
“Our folks have worked so hard,” Zimmerman said. “I know that they’re anxious to see all their work come to fruition. … Anytime you’re building something from scratch, you’re really invested in seeing it be successful.”
The wait will be over soon.
“It’ll be something different to be able to do that here and stay in Missouri, to go to the local bars and be able to place your bets while you’re there as well,” Burns said.
Missouri’s total handle in the first year is expected to approach $3.88 billion dollars, according to Boan.
“That money has been exiting the state, going to Iowa, going to Kansas, going to Illinois, pretty much going everywhere except Missouri,” Boan said. “You have markets all around you. You know — water, water everywhere, but none to drink.”
Missouri is the only state launching sports gambling in 2025, so the Dec. 1 launch is expected to draw a tremendous amount of attention.
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