FanDuel has made a bid to join the Missouri sports betting market that is launching later this year.
The largest sportsbook in the country, which enjoys 43% of the US sports betting market, is seeking one of the two untethered licenses available in Missouri.
FanDuel joins its closest competitor, DraftKings (22% of US market), in applying for the standalone licenses ahead of the July 15 deadline.
Deadline just a day away
Just four operators have applied for licenses to operate sportsbooks in Missouri when sports betting launches on Dec. 1. Underdog and bet365 have applied for a tethered license, meaning they must partner with one of the six professional sports teams in the state or one of the 13 riverboat casinos.
There are 31 tethered licenses available, 19 retail and 12 mobile. There are only two untethered licenses up for grabs, and so far, just FanDuel and DraftKings have applied for those. Operators can hold both types of licenses, and the two sports betting titans are expected to seek tethered licenses as well.
The untethered licenses could prove to be more valuable to operators since they would not be required to share revenue or resources with land-based partners.
That said, marketing opportunities associated with professional sports teams could also be deemed quite lucrative.
Prospective standalone licensees will meet with the Missouri Gaming Commission (MGC) on Aug. 13, with the recipients to be announced Aug. 15. Sportsbooks seeking tethered licenses have until Sept. 12 to apply.
Meanwhile, gaming suppliers Catalist, Gaming Labs International, and GeoComply have also submitted applications to the MGC. They would assist with data collection, testing, regulation, and geo-tracking.
Chief concerns
FanDuel is active in 25 US states. It and DraftKings spent more than $30 million helping to lobby for legal sports betting in Missouri during a drawn-out process that finally concluded with the November election last year.
The state’s professional sports teams have long advocated for sports wagering. St. Louis Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III led a coalition of sports teams that lobbied lawmakers to legalize sports betting, but those efforts failed. The coalition then led the effort to get the amendment on November's ballot, which voters narrowly passed.
Now that sports betting has been legalized, Missouri officials must work to keep the state's most popular sports team in the state. The Kansas City Chiefs, which have won three of the last six Super Bowls, are considering moving from their home in Missouri to Kansas.
Their neighbor has offered them several attractive incentives, including sales tax revenue bonds, to bring them over the border to play in a new roofed stadium.
To counter that offer, Missouri lawmakers have drafted a bill that would allocate $1.5 billion toward a new stadium in Missouri for the Chiefs.
The popular Chiefs will impact the sports betting market in Missouri no matter where they play. Estimates suggest that, based on the 10% tax rate, the state will receive $28.9 million in annual funding, much of it probably from wagers on the Chiefs.