In December, Missouri sports bettors wagered over $540 million, marking it the inaugural complete month of regulated sports betting within the state, as per the Missouri Gaming Commission’s first Sports Wagering Revenue Detail Report.

Total wagers reached $543,039,131.41 following the launch on December 1.

Sportsbook operators disclosed approximately $104 million in gross winnings for the month. After accounting for payouts and mandatory deductions related to promotions and sign-up bonuses, sportsbooks incurred a net loss of $20.8 million. Consequently, tax contributions to the state amounted to $521,000.

Market participants often anticipate initial losses during new market activations due to heavy customer acquisition expenditures. During December, sportsbooks disbursed roughly $437 million in winning bets and allocated around $125 million in promotional free play.

Digital Innovation and Market Dynamics

Online betting dominated the market, with approximately $538 million wagered via mobile platforms compared to $4.15 million at brick-and-mortar locations, representing nearly 99% of the total handle. According to the December figures, Missouri positioned itself just within the top 15 U.S. sports betting markets, ranking between Indiana and Tennessee, driven by robust promotional efforts.

FanDuel emerged as the leading operator by handle, capturing $212 million, or 39% of the overall market. The operator generated $46 million in gross revenue yet reported a net loss of $7.19 million after accounting for payouts and promotions.

DraftKings trailed with $195 million wagered for a 36% market share. Although it achieved $31.6 million in gross winnings, it experienced a $16.9 million net loss attributed to promotional deductions.

Bet365 secured the third spot with $57.7 million in handle and reported $18.3 million in gross revenue, yielding a net win of $3.83 million.

Additional online operators reported the following outcomes for December:

• BetMGM: $28.1 million handle (5.2%) | $2.00 million revenue (1.93%)
• Fanatics: $22.6 million (4.2%) | $2.22 million (2.14%)
• Caesars: $14.5 million (2.7%) | $2.19 million (2.12%)
• theScore Bet (Penn): $6.25 million (1.2%) | $1.02 million (1.0%)
• Circa: $1.42 million (0.3%) | $117,394 (0.1%)

Performance of Retail Locations and Betting Types

Retail sportsbooks garnered $4.15 million in handle, generating $930,883 in gross revenue. Ameristar St. Charles led in retail earnings with $824,880 in wagers. The Ameristar sportsbooks operate under the Fanatics brand, facilitated through a market-access partnership with Boyd.

In terms of sports betting, football attracted approximately $150 million in wagers, accounting for 28% of total handle, producing about $9.9 million in revenue, or 9.5%. Basketball followed with just over $100 million in bets and generated $11.6 million in revenue.

Parlays represented $213 million in handle, equating to 39% of total wagers and contributing $74.2 million in revenue, which is over 70% of the overall earnings. Operators maintained a 35% hold on parlay bets.