Is sports betting legal in Missouri?

How Missouri got here

Missouri didn't get sports betting from the legislature. Voters put it in the state constitution: the Missouri Gaming Commission's launch release says it is the result of Amendment 2, approved on 5 November 2024, and that legal sports wagering opened at 12:00 a.m. on 1 December 2025. The text now sits in Article III, Section 39(g) of the Missouri Constitution, which allows bets through an online platform to people physically located in the state, at the excursion gambling boats (the casinos) and inside sports districts approved by the pro teams.

The Missouri Gaming Commission licenses the books and publishes the list of approved mobile and retail licensees on its site. I'd check a book against that list before I put a dollar on it. A book that isn't there isn't a Missouri book, whatever its ads say.

The rules a Missouri bettor runs into

You have to be 21 to open an account and bet, and you have to be in Missouri when you place the bet, so the app checks your location every time. Crossing into Kansas or Illinois for the evening means following that state's rules, not Missouri's.

The constitution also takes a few bets off the board. There's no wagering on youth or high school events, and no bets on how a single athlete performs in one game when a Missouri college team is playing. You can bet Mizzou to cover. You can't bet a Mizzou quarterback's passing yards. I've always thought college player props were the easiest bets in the building to tamper with, so I don't mind that rule.

Winnings are taxable income; the IRS says so plainly.

Where the offshore books fit

Offshore books will take a bet from Missouri, but none of them is licensed by the state. If a Missouri-licensed book slow-pays you, you can file a complaint with the Commission and it has the power to act. If an offshore book does it, the Commission can't help you. That is the whole difference, and it matters most on the day you win. Our offshore sportsbooks page explains how those books operate, and the VPN page covers why hiding your location rarely ends well.

If betting has stopped being fun, the Commission points people to free counseling at 1-888-BETSOFF, and our responsible gambling guide covers the tools a book has to offer you.

*Checked against Missouri Gaming Commission on 28 October 2026. Laws change; this page is re-checked every quarter. This is not legal advice.*