Missouri Amendment 2 — Sports Betting Legalization
Amendment 2 was a 2024 ballot initiative that legalized online and retail sports betting in Missouri. It passed by an extraordinarily narrow margin and took effect on December 1, 2025.
What Amendment 2 did
Before Amendment 2, sports betting was illegal in Missouri. The state was surrounded by legal markets — Kansas, Illinois, Iowa, Tennessee, Arkansas — and Missourians who wanted to bet either crossed state lines or used illegal offshore sites. Amendment 2 changed that by adding a constitutional authorization for sports betting under Missouri Gaming Commission oversight.
The amendment created the framework for:
- Up to 14 online sportsbook licenses
- Retail sportsbooks at all 13 riverboat casinos
- Retail sportsbooks at professional sports venues
- A 10% tax on operator adjusted gross revenue
- Mandatory funding for problem-gambling resources
- Tax revenue earmarked for K-12 and higher education
The vote
Amendment 2 passed on November 5, 2024 with approximately 50.05% support — one of the closest statewide ballot results in Missouri history. The margin was so thin that the result was not officially called for several days after Election Day, with mail-in and provisional ballots ultimately confirming passage by roughly 7,500 votes out of more than 2.9 million cast.
Who funded the campaign
The "Winning for Missouri Education" campaign supporting Amendment 2 raised over $40 million, making it one of the most expensive ballot initiatives in state history. Major contributors included:
- DraftKings and FanDuel — the two largest US sportsbook operators
- The Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals
- The Kansas City Chiefs and St. Louis Blues
- St. Louis City SC and Sporting Kansas City
Opposition came from a smaller "Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment" campaign, which argued the measure favored out-of-state operators and would not deliver the education funding promised.
Implementation timeline
| November 5, 2024 | Voters approve Amendment 2 (50.05%) |
|---|---|
| December 5, 2024 | Amendment officially becomes part of the Missouri Constitution |
| Spring 2025 | Missouri Gaming Commission begins drafting rules |
| August 2025 | First untethered licenses awarded to DraftKings and Circa Sports |
| October 2025 | Retail-tied and team-tied operator licenses issued |
| November 17, 2025 | Pre-registration opens; 188,000 accounts created before launch |
| December 1, 2025 | Sports betting goes live; 250,000+ active accounts on day one |
Early performance
The first month of legal Missouri betting saw $543 million in handle (total amount wagered), exceeding pre-launch projections. By the end of January 2026, more than 520,000 active accounts had been created across the eight licensed online operators. Revenue from those wagers — and the 10% tax it generates — flows into education funding and the Compulsive Gambling Prevention Fund as Amendment 2 mandated.
What Amendment 2 did NOT do
- It did not legalize online casino games (slots, blackjack, roulette). Online casino remains illegal in Missouri.
- It did not authorize election or political betting.
- It did not change the legal age — sports betting age was set at 21+, matching casino gambling age.
- It did not allow player prop bets on Missouri-based college athletes.
Related laws
Amendment 2 sits alongside earlier Missouri gambling-related amendments:
- Proposition A (1992) — legalized riverboat casino gaming
- Amendment 5 (1984) — authorized the Missouri Lottery
- Amendment 7 (1980) — legalized parimutuel horse race wagering (no active tracks today)