Find the Best Legal Missouri Sports Betting Sites: Safe Bookies

Recent years have seen the Show Me State open up to expanded gambling, but for the time being there is still no legal Missouri sports betting. Therefore, as we are unable to recommend the best Missouri legal online sportsbook, we’ve used this guide to focus on the present and future of MO gambling laws.

To ensure that you can find the best gambling in Missouri, we’ve discussed the different betting options available as well as discussed the future outlook for a legal sports betting market. We will only ever recommend licensed online bookmakers on this site, so we’ve also explained why you should avoid illegal bookmakers.

What Betting Options are Legal for Missouri Residents

For most of the twentieth century, Missouri remained a fairly anti-gambling state. In the last two decades, lawmakers and residents have shown a growing interest in expanded gambling, and this is reflected in the available betting options. Missourians can legally wager on horse racing, the lottery, casino games, and daily fantasy sports.

Is Daily Fantasy Legal in Missouri?

Missouri is one of a number of states that have created a law to clarify that daily fantasy sports (DFS) are legal. Reputable sports betting sites such as FanDuel and DraftKings that double as DFS platforms are available in the state, offering what is the closest thing to legal Missouri online gambling.

DFS contests see participants draft fantasy lineups of players from a sports league within a budget. Points are scored based on the real-life performances of their chosen players, and the participants with the most points win the prize pool. Due to the skill involved, DFS is not technically considered to be gambling.

Are there Legal Offshore Sites for Missouri Players

Missouri’s law has been interpreted to mean that online gambling is illegal, meaning that the use of offshore betting sites such as Bovada and MyBookie is criminal. For this reason, we would suggest waiting for a Missouri legal online sportsbook to wager on any sports or risk being penalized.

It’s worth keeping in mind that any website that advertises itself as offering legal online sports betting in Missouri is lying. These websites are not licensed, therefore, they are not trusted sportsbooks. We only recommend signing up to legal websites to ensure that your bets are safe and odds are fair.

Casinos

The first riverboat casinos were legalized in Missouri in 1992, though they faced strict regulations. One rule was that players were unable to lose more than $500 at a casino. This wasn’t amended until a referendum in 2008 allowed casinos to remove the $500 player loss limit. There are now 13 casinos in Missouri.

These offer everything from slot machines to table games, and it is believed that once Missouri sports betting is legalized, they will offer physical sportsbooks. Online casino gambling is illegal. Some of the most well-known MO casinos include the Ameristar Casino in Kansas City and the Hollywood Casino in St. Louis.

Racetrack Betting

While there are no horse tracks in Missouri, pari-mutuel horse race betting is legal in Missouri. However, with the lack of off-track betting parlors and legal online sports betting in Missouri still illegal, there is no way that players can legally wager on out-of-state horse races.

For years, Missouri’s Horse Racing Commission has been pushing to build horse racing tracks in the state, though there is little sign that this will happen in the near future. For the time being, most of the state’s expanded gambling efforts are focused on legalizing Missouri sports betting.

Card Rooms

Missouri is home to 10 poker rooms, all of which are located in its casinos in Kansas City, St. Louis, and St. Charles. The poker rooms are renowned for offering a Las Vegas-style poker experience and are kitted out with modern table management technology and manned with expert dealers.

Perhaps the most well-known of these rooms is the Lumiere Place Casino Poker Room in St. Louis. Tournaments are held twice a week on Fridays and Saturday evenings. Spreads include Limit Hold’em, No Limit Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha. Every year, Missouri poker rooms host tournaments for the Heartland Poker Tour.

Nearby States with Legal Sports Betting

Until there is a Missouri legal online sportsbook available, MO residents can travel to legal states to place sports betting wagers. Thankfully, Missouri is bordered by three particularly great sports betting markets, meaning locals won’t have to travel too far to place wagers.

Below, we’ve listed the closest states that offer legal sports betting. Because players can place bets online without registering first at a physical casino, Illinois is perhaps the most convenient betting destination for MO bettors to travel to.

• Iowa
• Illinois
• Arkansas

What would Legal Sports Betting in Missouri Look Like

In 2019, Missouri lawmakers introduced a number of bills that looked to expand gambling in the state, including allowing sports betting. One exciting facet of the bill is that both in-person and mobile betting will be authorized, allowing for the creation of legal online sports betting in Missouri.

Although the bills were popular and were expected to pass, the unexpected early closure of the state legislative session means that Missouri sports betting won’t be able to be launched until at least 2021. When it does happen, sports betting will be regulated by the Missouri Gaming Commission.

This agency will be in charge of everything from licensing to establishing rules. Licensing is important as it not only ensures that only the safest betting sites are available to customers, but that sportsbooks are providing fair odds and are doing all they can to protect vulnerable gamblers.

Once sports betting is legalized, MO bettors will be able to place bets on all major sports league events from the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, and more, and also lesser-known international events. That’s right – you’ll be able to bet on the games of your favorite MO teams, including the Kansas City Chiefs and the St. Louis Cardinals. If legalized wagering is extended to the online sphere, players will no longer need to play at Kansas City riverboats. They can bet from anywhere within state borders.

After legalization, it is likely the best Missouri sportsbooks will have competitive odds, and allow wagering on many different sports. Not only will players have access to various bet types, but claim unique bonus offers for new players.

What are the Missouri Gambling Laws

Missouri’s gambling history was relatively uneventful for most of its history, though this began to change in the late 20th century. Charity bingo games weren’t legalized until 1980, and it was another five years until the lottery was legalized after that. In 1992, riverboat casinos were legalized.

To this day, casinos in Missouri must technically be riverboats, though this has generally meant that all casinos have had to be by the water or built on top of on-water platforms. The Missouri Gaming Commission has been in operation since 1993 and ensures that licensees are acting in step with Missouri gambling laws.

While Missouri doesn’t specifically outlaw online gambling, it does specify that gambling must take place at licensed riverboats. This means that the introduction of online sports betting will mean that gambling laws will need to be amended to allow for this form of off-riverboat gambling.

Missouri laws stipulate players must be over the age of 18 to participate in the lottery. For players to gamble at casinos or on daily fantasy sports, participants need to be over 21. For this reason, it’s likely players will need to be over 21 years of age to bet on sports once it is legalized.

What is the Future of Sports Betting in Missouri?

Before the unexpected shutdown of the Missouri legislative session, MO was considered to be one of the most likely states to legalize sports betting in 2020. The current sports betting bill has received bipartisan support due to its lack of including an integrity fee and for not requiring books to use official league data.

Once legal online sports betting in Missouri happens, we believe that it will be one of the most exciting legal sport betting states in the country due to the state’s strong representation in professional sports. Until then, bettors must travel out of state to safely and legally place bets on sports.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you still have questions about Missouri sports betting and whether or not you are able to make legal sports bets online? In this section, we have answered a number of questions that are commonly asked about the state’s gaming options and gambling laws.